Only Human (Videl POV)
by Gabygoo
Summary: When a mysterious new boy transfers into Videl's class, she becomes determined to find out his secret. What she will discover will change her life forever. How does a mostly ordinary teenage girl react to discovering the truths of the DBZ Universe? Videl's POV of the entire Buu Saga.
1. Prologue

**[AN: Hi! This is actually my first fanfiction I've ever published! I may not be the best writer in the world. I may not be that amazing in general. But this is something I've been working on, nonetheless. It may be a bit dialogue-heavy, but that's just my style. I'm sorry! It won't get much better. Also, I didn't try to put TOO much Gohan/Videl in this fic. Sure, it's a part of it, but I try to put a greater emphasis on the relationships between ALL characters, not just "true love romance" stuff. Any comments will be appreciated!]**

"I just can't believe I dated him," Videl sighed.

"Don't worry about it," said Erasa from the other side of the phone. "It's not your fault that Tape ended up being…"

"A total jerk!" Videl exclaimed.

"A total jerk," Erasa agreed. "But at least you know what he's really like now. It would have been worse if you'd been going out for longer."

Videl sighed again. "Can this get any worse? School's starting, I broke up with Tape and I don't have anyone to help me train for the Budokai!"

Erasa feigned deafness, like always, when Videl mentioned martial arts. That always annoyed her. Sure, it wasn't exactly a girly thing to like, but she was the daughter of the World Martial Arts champion! It was a part of her life, whether she liked it or not.

"At least you're single now," Erasa posited. "You're free from any obligations."

"And that means all my rejects are going to try asking me out again." Videl had gone through a lot of boyfriends in the past few years. And there still wasn't a shortage of guys waiting for their chance. That tended to happen when you were popular AND came from a rich family.

"Maybe the next one will be better…"

"They never are," said Videl. "All they care about is my popularity, and not me. Not to mention, my dad's ultimatum narrows the options."

A few months ago, her father decided that she was only allowed to date someone who was stronger than him. While no one would have _ever_ qualified for that, her and Tape never got serious enough for it to really apply. That, and she didn't tell her father they were dating. He'd strike it down as soon as he found out. Her father was so infuriating sometimes! She should be allowed to date anyone she liked!

"Sometimes I feel like there isn't a single boy in this city that's good enough for me. They're all just jerks."

Erasa paused. "…that's a selfish thing to say."

"It's true, though!" Videl exclaimed. "Everyone who wants me isn't good enough. That, or they're not strong enough to fight me."

Erasa sighed. "No wonder you broke up with Tape with THAT attitude."

"Shut up!" cried Videl. "I really thought he would last…"

Eventually, they hung up, and Videl fell on her bed. School tomorrow, and everyone will know she's single. What a disaster. It would be hard enough to sit in her usual spot without Sharpener making a move on her.

And then she thought of Tape. He seemed great, at first. Strong and funny and always cool. But from the start, he was a bit too self-centred. It was at the party the night before when she realised he only cared about her to increase his social status. They walked in to the party holding hands, but after that he acted like she wasn't even there. And he always blabbed on about things she'd rather keep secret. It was almost impossible to trust him! She broke up with him before the party was over.

Thinking back, maybe she was being a bit too petty. Maybe she had too much to drink and it went to her head. Maybe Tape was actually nice. But she'd let the genie out of the bottle by breaking up with him. She couldn't just go back and say "Hey, it was a mistake, let's get back together"! What would people think of her then?

…she really needed to stop caring about what other people thought. _That's what I'll do_, she thought. _From now on_. Not care about what people thought about her. Popularity was overrated, anyway.

But she knew that kind of attitude wasn't going to last. It never did.

Videl sighed, turned off her lights, and went to bed.

_She didn't know that, the next day, a single boy would kickstart a chain of events that would change her life forever. This is her story. It is a story about love, loss and family. A story about being only human._


	2. The Gold Fighter

From the moment she woke up, it looked like it was going to be a crappy day.

First off was the realisation that it was the first day of school. Her months of respite were over. She never cared about school. What was the point? She was going to be a fighter, like her dad. Education wouldn't help with THAT.

The next omen happened when she was driving on her way to school. Her communicator started beeping, which could only mean a crime was underway.

She sighed. A crime, this early in the morning? And she'd be late to school. That wasn't normally a big deal, but it wouldn't be a great way to start the term. "This is Videl," she said into her communicator. "What's the problem?"

"Robbery at Satan City Bank. 5 people, with guns."

"Again?" she sighed. "This is getting out of control."

She got her driver to take her close to the bank. At least she'd be able to take her frustration on SOMEONE.

But when she arrived at the bank, it was not what she expected. It looked like someone had already taken care of the criminals. Someone, or _something_. The criminals were passed out on the ground in various states of injury, and what seemed to be their getaway van had been completely destroyed. Videl surveyed the scene. Of course, just as soon as she was getting excited, someone had done the deed before her. But who could have destroyed that car? Maybe the criminals crashed it while getting away. But that didn't really explain how it was completely flipped over.

It looked like this had happened quite recently. Someone surely knew what happened. There was a boy hiding behind a street pole. Probably to get away from the scene of the crime. She bet he saw what happened.

"Hey, you!" she shouted at him.

The boy turned around. He looked to be around her age. He had short, spiky black hair, the type that boys would normally spend hours of time and a lot of hair gel to get, but on him it looked natural. It matched his eyes, which were almost black. It looked like he was an Orange Star student as well, which was strange, because she didn't recognise him.

"Tell me who did this, it hardly looks like police work!"

The boy stammered nervously. "Oh…I guess I wasn't looking."

An entire car had been flipped over. She doubted the boy didn't see anything, but there was no time to interrogate him.

"I can't believe I missed it!" she growled. "I should have stopped them." It would have helped put her mind off things, at the very least.

One of the older men recognised her. "Oh, hey Videl!" he said. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Wasn't that Golden Fighter incredible?"

One person managed to do all this? How was that even possible? "A golden fighter?" she asked. "Explain."

"You mean you really didn't see him? He was some kind of freakish superhuman! I saw him knock down a truck by _yelling _at it!" He looked at the badge on her dress. "Actually, I thought he was a buddy of yours, considering he went to your high school."

This superhuman went to her high school? "Huh?"

"Yeah, he had a badge just like yours on his shirt."

"All the kids in school need to wear this thing." It certainly didn't narrow anything down. But if he really had an Orange Star badge…."Well, if he really goes there, I will find him."

Videl hoped that line didn't come out hostile. Because, despite what people would have thought, she was not happy that this guy had apparently saved the day. She was all prepared for this, only to have someone else steal the time and the spotlight.

She walked back to the car, fuming. Some sort of 'super human'? With golden hair? She knew quite a few people with blonde hair, but none of them were fighters, and definitely not superhuman.

It reminded her…of the Cell Games. The people who fought Cell before the film broke had golden hair as well. At least, some of them did. After her father defeated Cell, they all disappeared. Could one of them have finally made a reappearance? She didn't know what they were doing fighting bank robbers. It was like this Gold Fighter decided to come back JUST to upstage her. What a jerk!

As she walked into the school, the dread over the gossip that'd be circulating about Tape almost made her forget about the Gold Fighter. Everyone would be asking her the details, and she'd have to keep explaining it until she got completely sick of it! As if she wanted to be reminded of why Tape was a jerk in the first place! As she walked through the corridor, people started moving towards her. _Here it goes_, she thought.

"If you must know, Tape and I broke up because-"

"What's this about the Gold Fighter?"

"Weren't you there, Videl?"

"Was he as strong as you?"

Videl could never fully appreciate how quickly gossip moved in this school.


	3. The New Student

**[AN: A bit of a short chapter. Don't worry, the chapters get longer from here on.]**

As she settled into her seat for her first class, everyone was talking about the Gold Fighter. From what she could work out, that situation with the bank robbers wasn't the first time he'd appeared. He must have only started recently, though. She would have heard about it otherwise.

She surveyed the class. Golden hair…could the Gold Fighter be in this room?

"Hey, Sharpener!" she asked. "You aren't the Golden Fighter, are you?" It was worth a shot, his hair was right. Although, knowing him, he would probably lie and say it was him just to impress her.

"I wouldn't have time to play superhero," he said bluntly. "I spend all morning at the gym, remember?"

_Typical Sharpener response_, she thought. Make himself sound even more macho than the guy who can apparently flip a car by yelling at it. While he was her friend, he really got on her nerves sometimes.

"If what the rumours say are true, he could even be stronger than your dad!" exclaimed Erasa. She seemed surprisingly interested, for someone who normally didn't care about this crime fighting stuff.

_No one's stronger than my dad_, she thought. _He won the Budokai, he defeated Cell. He's the strongest man on Earth._

They were interrupted by the teacher's arrival. "Good morning, young…scholars. Today we're being graced by a classmate who actually knows how to read. That's your cue, boy."

Out stepped a boy who looked familiar…it was the boy she saw this morning! No wonder she didn't recognise him, he was a new student.

He looked around nervously. "My name is Son Gohan," he said timidly. "It's nice to meet you."

"What kind of name is Gohan?" asked Sharpener. "Doesn't that mean 'rice'?"

"Coming from a guy named after a piece of stationary," rebutted Videl.

Sharpener chuckled. "Touché."

There was something strange about this new student. Something about him seemed familiar, like she knew him years ago but had forgotten what he looked like.

"He's kind of cute," remarked Erasa.

"I guess," said Videl. "If you like dorky."

As the teacher began explaining how Gohan had apparently gotten full marks on the entrance exam, Videl felt disappointed. _Definitely a dork. He'll have trouble making friends around here._

Gohan began scanning the room for an empty desk.

"You can sit over here!" shouted Erasa, pointing to the empty seat next to her.

_Typical Erasa, _she thought. _Being the friendly one, as usual._

While Erasa was giving her introductions, Videl studied Gohan. Could he be the Gold Fighter? His profile seemed to fit, besides the hair, of course. In fact, he seemed to be wearing similar clothing that the police described the Gold Fighter as wearing. But the more she saw of him, the less likely it seemed. The personality seemed wrong. Gohan seemed way too geeky to be able to fight off those bank robbers.

But, for the moment, Gohan was the best lead she had. And besides, there was something strange about him. She was going to keep an eye on him.

She didn't find any new information about the Gold Fighter that day. No one else at school had even seen him. All they knew was what they'd heard from other people. He was really strong, he had gold hair, and he tended to disappear as soon as everyone was safe. That was all anyone knew about him.

However, things got interesting when they started baseball during their sports class. It turned out Gohan was good. _Really _good. Videl swore at one point he jumped over 30 feet in the air. She would have believed she was seeing things, but apparently her classmates had seen it, too. While after that, he didn't do anything as extreme, it was enough to raise her suspicions. If anyone in the school could be the Gold Fighter, it would be him.

The mysteries behind him kept piling up that day. He apparently lived a few hours drive from school, only being home-schooled until now. But when school ended, he was just walking home. And if he lived so far away, why would he come to this school? It wasn't like it was very famous or anything, it was just big. Things about him just didn't add up.

Who _was_ Gohan? What was he doing here? And was he really as strong as he showed during baseball? Because, if he was, she had a few questions to ask him.


	4. The Great Saiyaman

**[AN: This is where things diverge a little. The original Saiyaman scene is from the manga. I'm not keeping the Saiyaman filler in there. And yes, I've stopped using the show's dialogue precisely. There's nothing wrong with it, it will just flow better from Videl's POV if I change it a little.]**

Gohan was so infuriating! Every time she thought she had a lead on him, he'd disappear. At first, she tried to follow him when he left school; she wanted to know how he got home. But no matter how quickly she went, he always slipped away.

It was strange how much she was getting into the chase. For all she knew, he wasn't a crimefighter. Maybe he had another secret. Maybe he did drugs or something. _OK, maybe not that_. But the more she talked to him in class, the more she felt like he was hiding something. Whenever she asked him about what he used to do before coming to Orange Star, he would give a nervous laugh and only give vague answers.

After some investigation in the school directory, she saw he really DID live a couple of hours away. _He wasn't lying there_. And when she looked his house up, she saw it really WAS the middle of nowhere. Orange Star probably was the closest school to his house. If that was true, she felt a little sorry for him. No wonder he was home-schooled.

But Videl was still sure she knew Gohan from somewhere. His face looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where from. So she decided to do the first thing you do when you want to know someone. Look them up online.

Typing 'Son Gohan' into an online search engine, she got quite a few matches. Videl thought if he had been in a competition with her, it would show up his name. Unfortunately, most of the best matches were websites advertising different forms of rice. _This is what happens when you're named after food,_ she thought.

But, a few pages down, there was a link to an archive of old newspapers. 'Love and War at the Budokai', proclaimed the article.

The Budokai? Maybe it was about her dad! Videl opened the article. Since she was still looking it up from a search, key words were still highlighted automatically.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Love and War at the Budokai<em>**

_It was a thrilling day at the 23__rd__ Tenkaichi Budokai Martial Arts Tournament, where anything seems possible. You can believe a pig can fly after watching these trained martial art masters in action, as they show the true limit of what human beings are capable of._

_The winner of this illustrious tournament was the crowd favourite, 18-year-old __Son Go__ku. After becoming the youngest ever finalist in the Budokai at the age of 12, he has beaten all records to become the youngest ever champion on his third attempt._

_"__It was obvious that Goku was going to win," said quarter-finalist and friend to __Son__, Krillin. "He's always been the strongest among us. Honestly, he should have won years ago."_

_Son Goku has had two failed grand final attempts before this, losing narrowly in the 21__st__ and 22__nd__ tournaments, before making it third time lucky on this day. But it wasn't an easy victory. Son Goku defeated his rival Demon Jr. after a long fight where even the spectators had to evacuate due to dangerous conditions, including the destruction of the arena itself. Demon Jr. shocked the entire stadium by revealing himself to be the __son__ of the Demon King Piccolo himself. The incredible fight between these two masters ended in a simple ring-out. The adjudicator joked that defining the boundaries was difficult once the arena itself was destroyed!_

_There were also shocks of a different variety. During the quarter-finals__, Son__ Goku's fight against an unnamed woman made Budokai history when Goku surprised the woman with a marriage proposal!_

_"__We've known each other since childhood," the woman told us, 18-year-old Chi-Chi. "He promised to marry me as a child, so it wasn't a shock when he proposed. I just wish he'd understood what marriage was as a child."_

_When asked what him and his new fiancée would do now he had finally won, __Son Go__ku seemed unsure. "I'm not going to stop training," he said. "Piccolo [Demon Jr., the runner-up] is going to try to defeat me again. I've got to be ready when that happens."_

_Demon Jr. was unavailable to comment._

_Son __was thrilled with his victory. "I wish Grandpa __Gohan__ had been here to see this," he said. "He would be so proud." _

_Chi-Chi explained to us that her and __Son__ Goku would be leaving the Budokai for their wedding, before settling down to live in a remote place in the mountains. "We've got it all set up," said Chi-Chi, her arms fixed around Goku, "And we can start living the rest of our lives together!"_

_Son __Goku was unsure if he would return to defend his title. "I don't think Junior is going to come back. But I wouldn't want to miss a good fight!"_

_After 3 previous action-packed tournaments, the Budokai will be empty without their so-called "Monkey Boy". But perhaps this will mean, without __Son__ Goku participating, a new generation of martial artists will come to take his place._

_Currently, the tournament's organisers are busy rebuilding the arena for the next competition. While they say there may be delays, they promise it will be up and running in a few years._

_Whatever happens, it's safe to say the Tenkaichi Budokai will still remain an important event in the hearts of martial arts fans everywhere._

* * *

><p><em>That was an interesting article,<em> thought Videl. Looking at the date, she noticed this was a tournament that took place quite a few years before her father won the Budokai. In fact, she wasn't even born when the article was written. Obviously, the reporter was right about Son Goku not returning. Videl thought she would have remembered if he was there last time.

But, besides that. _Son Goku._ It was the same last name as Gohan. Was he…his father? It would make sense. The article mentioned him and Chi-Chi living in the mountains – just like where Gohan mentioned he lived. And, if Gohan's father was a former martial arts champion, it might explain why he was so strong. It would be ridiculous to think his father hadn't taught him anything.

"All I need to do is convince him to go to the Budokai," Videl told Erasa on the phone, a few days after school started. "That way, I can see how good he is, and I could work out if he's the Gold Fighter or not."

"Is that all you want?" Erasa asked. "It sounds more like you want to fight him."

"Well, I do," she admitted bluntly. "Think about it; the children of two former champions fighting together! It would be perfect!"

"Still, though, if you want to convince him, you might not want to tell him everything that you did. He might think you're stalking him."

"I'm not stalking him!" she exclaimed. "I'm just…" She wasn't sure how to put it.

"Curious?" Erasa suggested.

"Curious," Videl decided. "There's something strange about him, and I want to know what it is."

"So you're going to fight him? How is that going to tell you anything?"

"You just don't understand," said Videl. "For a martial artist, fighting someone tells you _everything._"

* * *

><p>The next day at school, Videl tried to ask Gohan if he was entering the Budokai, but for some reason, she couldn't work up the courage to say it. It was really strange, she didn't normally have any trouble talking to others, but she just couldn't do it, and she didn't know why. Maybe she thought he would think she really <em>was <em>stalking him?

She was trying to work out what was stopping her during the first-period science class. As usual, no one was paying attention, except for Gohan, who was methodically taking notes. _The perfect student as _always.

Just then, she got an alert on her watch during the middle of class. Secretly, she was thankful for that. The class was a total bore, she'd rather be off fighting crime. And she got an automatic excuse to leave the class whenever she was contacted.

"Two armed robbers. We're in pursuit," the police officer explained, and gave the address of where they were currently headed.

"I'll be on my way." She hurried off. No class, AND she got to beat up some criminals? This was turning out to be a great day! She'd work out her boy issues when this was all over.

She uncapsuled her helicopter and headed straight for the route. If they were driving in that direction, it was likely she could get ahead of them. Then she could intercept them and hopefully beat them up.

So she landed her helicopter in the middle of the road and waited in front of it. The criminals would be arriving soon. Videl had to admit she was pleased with herself. It felt like a real police roadblock, even if it was just herself.

Eventually, she saw the criminals in their getaway car. They noticed the roadblock and were forced to stop right in front of her. Videl was a little concerned when she saw one of them had a gun. Guns were so _cheap!_ You couldn't fight someone properly if they were shooting at you. She had to trick them into deciding this one on one.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up," she called to them. "Unless you want to get hurt."

The larger of the duo smirked and walked up to her. "You want to show me how to fight?" he asked her. "I'm pretty tough."

_He's underestimating me._ Videl smiled. This always happened. All the criminals saw was an unarmed teenage girl. They didn't understand how strong she was, so they assumed they could beat her easily. How wrong they were.

He tried to hit her, but he was too slow, as always. They were always too slow. She didn't have time to mess around, so she hit him in the jaw. He immediately fell to the ground. It was such a satisfying feeling when a hit connected like that.

But while he was mostly unharmed, he refused to give himself up. He tried to hit her again, angry this time, but it was useless. She hit him a few more times and knocked him out.

But she noticed, a little too late, that she had gotten so into the fight, she forgot to keep her eye on the other accomplice. She heard the click of the gun behind her. He was preparing to fire.

…and then she heard his shout of shock.

Videl turned around. The criminal was backing away, his gun on the floor. And in front of him was the man who had clearly disarmed him.

He was wearing a green tunic, along with a red cape and a large helmet that reminded her of one of those Sentai shows. Surprisingly, her first thought was _it looks tacky. The colours don't match or anything_.

The man picked up the criminal's fallen gun, and crushed in in his hands like it was made of paper.

He turned around and saw her. "Are you OK, Videl?" he asked.

She didn't know how he knew her name. "I'm fine," she said dismissively. Now that the immediate threat was over, she felt a little embarrassed that she had to be saved by him. **She** was sent in to deal with the criminals, no one was supposed to look out for her! What if he was someone sent by the police to check up on her? What if they didn't trust her after all?

The criminal stared at him in astonishment. "Wh-what…" he blabbered. "Who _are _you?"

"Oh…" the hero looked around a few times to check no one else was there, and then started.

Like straight out of a Sentai show, he posed. In fact, he made a few poses. This person had clearly been practicing their dance choreography.

"I am the guardian of the city, the defender of justice!" Finally, he placed his hands above his heads in a M symbol.

"I AM THE GREAT SAIYAMAN!"

It took Videl a few seconds to process these strange actions. She immediately felt disappointed. _He's acting like this is a TV show or something._ It removed any sort of presence he might have had. _Whoever this person is, they must be a total dork._

Then it hit her. There was only one person she could think of that could both be a superhero whilst still being a dork. And, if she was right, it would be a perfect opportunity.

But then she realised the criminal was getting away. He must have used the heroes' little routine as cover to escape.

"So long, suckers!" he yelled at them as he drove off.

But the Great Saiyaman wasn't having any of that. He just…flew after him. He was flying. Definitely flying. She would have thought it was a trick, but she could clearly _see_ him in the air. She could only stare, open-mouthed. _He can fly? How is that even possible? It's like I've stepped into a superhero movie, except…it's real._

He returned, holding the criminal in his hands.

"Videl, cuff them," he said.

"Sure," she replied. "I'll leave them here for the cops."

His voice was another dead giveaway, she realised. He still sounded the same. She walked up to this…Great Saiyaman. She had to word what she said carefully.

"So, _Gohan_," she started, trying to sound as casual as possible. "How did you manage to get out of school?"

"Oh, it was easy!" said the Great Saiyaman eagerly. "I just told them I was going to the bathroom, and then I-"

He stopped, suddenly realising what he had said, and what it meant.

_I knew it!_ Videl looked at him, waiting for him to respond.

Saiyaman- or should we say Gohan- fidgeted nervously. "How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"It was pretty obvious," Videl replied. "You knew my name. And your voice is still the same. And you act the same way."

"_Please _don't tell anyone!" he begged.

"Oh, I won't," she said, fighting the desire to laugh. She had him now.

Gohan sighed in relief. "Oh, thank-"

"On one condition."

For a split second, Videl thought Gohan might refuse, but he finally said "OK, sure. What is it?"

"That you fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai with me. It's in a few weeks, and I want to see what you can do."

Gohan looked horrified at first. _I can't see why he'd be scared, _she thought. _He seems to be pretty good. I doubt he'd make a fool of himself._

But then he seemed confused.

"How do you know I can fight?" he asked.

"Well, for starters, what you did back there. I can tell you know some stuff. Plus, I know the previous champion was Son Goku. That's your father, right?"

Gohan nodded, unsure of how she knew all this.

"So, what do you say?"

"Um…" Gohan hesitated for a while, as if he was weighing up the options in his head. "Alright."

"Then it's a deal!" Videl giggled. This was perfect! One blackmail and she managed to get Gohan to fight at the Budokai with her.

But there was one more thing she needed to know. "You're not the Gold Fighter, are you?" she demanded.

"What? …no, of course not!"

She almost didn't believe him. But, at the same time, what were the chances that Gohan was _two_ different superheroes? The Gold Fighter was probably someone else. But she still wanted to see what Gohan could do at the tournament.

She started walking back to the helicopter. "Here, I'll give you a lift back to school."

"Oh, you don't need to," said Gohan. He started rising in the air.

_Right, he can fly. I almost forgot about that._ "I insist," she said. "Think of it as a favour for helping me."

Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "Alright."

As he started climbing into the helicopter after her, Videl asked the question that had been bugging her for the past few minutes. "How do you fly? Did you fall into toxic waste or something stupid like that?"

He chuckled. "Oh, no, it's not like that. Really, flying isn't that difficult when you learn how to."

"Learn how to? Can you teach me?"

He considered it. "I guess I can try. But if you can't do it, don't worry about it. It might be a bit too advanced for you."

_How could he say that? What does he think I am, 10 years old?_ "I'll try it myself before you start making assumptions!"

_It's that attitude_, she thought. _That attitude that everyone else is beneath him. I thought he wouldn't be like that. Especially not to me._

People had been underestimating her for her entire life. She didn't want HIM doing it as well.

When they arrived back at school, Videl stopped him. "You go in first," she said. "Say whatever you want, but not the truth. I'll come in a few minutes after you. That way, it won't look like I came with you."

"You mean you really won't tell anyone?" Gohan looked glad, and a little surprised.

"Of course not," she said. "A deal's a deal. But don't forget to keep your part of the bargain."

"I won't." Gohan smiled a little as he ran towards the classroom's entrance.


	5. The First Lesson

Gohan didn't turn up to school the next day.

"Hey," she asked Erasa. "Do you know where Gohan is?"

"No idea," she replied. "He might just be sick. He spent a while in the bathroom yesterday. Maybe he was catching something."

This was weird. Why wasn't he at school? She was pretty sure he wasn't sick. Maybe he was too embarrassed to come to school after yesterday? Maybe he didn't trust her to keep his secret? But that was stupid. If he was avoiding school, he wouldn't be able to fulfil HIS part of the bargain.

Videl then had an idea. It was the weekend starting tomorrow. She knew his address from the school directory. If he wasn't going to show up, she'd have to go to him personally.

* * *

><p>She woke up extra early the next day. It would be a long trip to get to Gohan's place. "I'm going to a friend's place!" she called out to her father. "He's new, you don't know him!"<p>

"Him?" her father walked over to her. "If you're dating again-"

"Don't be silly, Dad. I'm not dating him."

"That's what you said with the last boy," Mr. Satan looked at her accusingly. "If you keep lying to me-"

Videl sighed. Her father was so infuriating. "I promise you, I'm not dating him. We're having a martial arts lesson." She stared at him, trying to make him believe her. "I promise," she repeated, sincerely.

"Oh, alright," her father resigned. "But come home before it gets late!"

"I will!"

The trip didn't take four hours, like Erasa once guessed it would, but it was definitely over two. _It would still be a pain to get here. How does he end up getting here…oh. He probably _flies_ to school. That would explain a bit._ She didn't even get lost. She thought finding the house would be a bit difficult, but it immediately stood out as she got close to the address. After all, it was the only house within a couple mile radius. The surroundings just consisted of hills and forests. _He really lives in the middle of nowhere. No wonder he seems so sheltered._

Videl landed the helicopter a safe distance from the house, walked up and rang the doorbell. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought. A few moments later, a woman opened the door. She was wearing very traditional clothing, and had her long black hair in a tight bun. Videl's first impression of her was that she looked like the typical Japanese housewife. Obviously, this must be Gohan's mother. What was her name again? She tried to remember the newspaper article she read. Chi-Chi, that was it!

"Hi," Videl introduced herself. "I'm looking for Gohan. Is he here?"

"Gohan…" Chi-Chi stopped. "He's outside. But if you're looking for a date, you're solely mistaken."

"It's not a date!" burst out Videl. That was the second time someone thought they were dating! Was that just a parent thing, to assume your child is going on a date? "It's _martial arts practice_!"

She heard a commotion outside the house. As she turned around, she saw Gohan walking up to her. He must have noticed her landing in. He was wearing a purple gi. _He's clearly taking this martial arts practice seriously._

Videl also noticed that it showed quite a lot of his chest. Gohan was surprisingly well-built for a guy- _Seriously, Videl_, she interrupted her inner monologue. _Stop getting distracted by the boys. You're here for the lesson, not to stare_.

"I'm here for the lesson," she announced. "You promised to teach me how to fly."

Gohan was initially confused. "How did you know where I live?"

"It's on the school directory."

He looked a little disappointed. "Well, while you're here, I guess I can teach _both_ of you at once."

Videl was about to ask what he meant by that when a young boy came running up to them. He looked to be about 6 or 7 years old, with long black hair that was even longer and messier than Gohan's.

"Are we going to start flying?" asked the boy excitedly. "I want to try!"

"Of course," said Gohan. "There's going to be someone else in our lesson as well."

To Videl, he said "This is my little brother, Goten."

So he had a brother. Huh. That was interesting. "Wait, he's learning to fly as well?"

"Oh, of course," said Gohan. "It's about time, really."

_Am I missing something here? He's younger than me! How is he supposed learn something that Gohan thinks I might have trouble with?_

Videl just didn't get it.

* * *

><p>"So," Gohan began. "Flying is a lot easier than you think. All you need to do is use your ki."<p>

"My what?" Videl asked.

Gohan stared, dumbfounded. "Wait, you don't know what ki is?"

"Am I…supposed to?"

"…well, maybe you call it something different." Gohan tried to explain. "It's like an energy that's inside of you."

"Like this," suggested Goten. He held out his hand, and some sort of energy came out, shattering the boulder he was aiming at.

Videl stared dumbfounded. _Did he just do what I think he did?_

Gohan immediately pushed him away. Obviously he decided his brother was being a bit too intrusive. "Why don't you go play by yourself for a while?" he suggested.

"OK," said Goten. "But I'll be back!"

Gohan breathed a sigh of relief as his brother left. "Now, let's continue."

He continued the lesson.

"So, ki is a an energy source, deep inside your body. Everyone has it, even animals. Are you sure you don't call it something else?"

_Magic? Whatever it is, it's not something I've ever heard about._

"I'd call it…a trick! That's what my father would say!"

Gohan laughed. "Believe me, this is no trick."

She couldn't believe it. But if this was going to teach her how to fly…_I guess I might as well go through with this._

He tried teaching her how to focus her ki. "Try focusing on your energy, deep inside you. Try to bring it out." He opened his hands, and formed what looked like a small ball of energy in-between his palms. "Like this, see?"

"Focus…my energy…" It actually reminded her of one of her martial arts teachers – not her dad, someone else, from a few years ago. "You just need to focus your energy," he had said. "Once you've focused it onto one point, use it to strike. That's how you fight."

…_huh. Maybe it isn't that different to what I've learned._ _Maybe I should just try it like it's a fighting move._

She imagined she was going to fight. Normally, she tried concentrating her strength. So she did what she normally did. Except, this time, she kept concentrating on that power. _I wouldn't normally do this,_ she justified to herself. _If I tried to do this in a fight, I'd be finished. Too much concentration, my opponent would have already knocked down._ Maybe that was why she was never taught in a way like this.

Then she did it. She could feel it before she could see it – a feeling in her gut moving through her body. She tried directing it to her hands like Gohan did, opening her eyes. It showed up first as a small glow, then got bigger as she concentrated on directing more energy to it, until it became distinct from her hands.

She did it! She didn't know what she could do with it, but she did it!

Gohan shared her excitement. "You did it, Videl! That's amazing!"

"You think so?" she asked. As she stopped her concentration and the energy dissipated, she was hit by a wave of fatigue.

He looked at her, concerned. "Are you OK? I guess using your ki does get some getting used to."

"I'm fine." She didn't want him to act all worried. She could take care of herself. She was his age, after all!

"Do you want to try again?"

"Yeah." Videl tried concentrating in the same way she did before. It took her a little while, but she managed to get her ki out. Or something. Really, she wasn't exactly sure _what_ she was doing, only that apparently it was important.

As she stopped, she was prepared for the fatigue. _If I practice this, it won't be too draining before long._

Gohan seemed to have the same thoughts. "How about you keep practicing. If you need help, I'm right here."

* * *

><p>She had just started getting into a routine when his mother called out that lunch was starting.<p>

They walked back to their house. Chi-Chi was bringing food to a table outside. Videl noticed she'd made quite a lot of food. How many people was she expecting to have? Especially because she'd only set the table for 4. And that in itself was strange. Where was their father? She had been looking forward to getting to meet the previous Budokai champion. If he wasn't living with them…he was either divorced or dead. Videl _was_ curious as to what happened to him, but she wasn't going to ask during lunch. It felt kind of inappropriate. She was a guest, after all. She had to be polite, especially for her first time here.

"This is delicious!" she exclaimed once they started eating.

"I should give the recipe to my cook."

"Your cook?" asked Chi-Chi. "Do you work in a restauraunt?"

"No, the cook in our house."

"You have your own cook?" Chi-Chi was surprised. Then she started rapidly asking questions. "How big is your house? How many rooms do you have?"

_She really doesn't know about me. _Everyone in Satan City knew who she was, and they all knew she was rich. This family was really behind the times.

"I don't know," Videl admitted. "I've never counted. Maybe…50?"

"50?" exclaimed Chi-Chi. "That's almost a small village!"

She turned to Gohan. "And you're going to marry this girl?"

Gohan spat out his rice.

Goten then joined in. "Does that mean Videl's going to be my new sister?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TAKING ABOUT!" shouted Gohan in embarrassment.

Videl laughed. Strangely enough, she wasn't taking them seriously. Judging by her attitude, it was clear that Chi-Chi wanted her son to marry a rich girl. But it wasn't like they were going to start dating, or something, just because she wanted them to.

Plus, it was funny to watch Gohan getting flustered.

* * *

><p>After lunch, Gohan gathered Goten and her together and they walked to a secluded area.<p>

"OK," said Gohan. "It's finally time to start our first flight! Just use your ki!"

He looked at Goten in concern. "And be careful!" he warned.

_That's all he's telling us? Use your ki?_ Videl tried to concentrate like how she did earlier. But she wasn't sure how this was going to make her fly.

It was certainly hard to concentrate when Goten was jumping up and down like a maniac. It was as if he thought that if he could just jump high enough, he wouldn't fall back down to the ground. To be fair, that was what Videl was expecting flying to be like.

Gohan noticed it as well. "No, Goten!" he went over to him. "Flying and hopping are two different things. Use your _ki._"

"Oh…" said Goten, understanding. He closed his eyes, concentrating.

_He's really trying to do this. I wonder if he'll actually do it?_ Videl decided to watch. It might help her, after all.

Whatever Goten was doing, it seemed like he _was_ using his ki, because there was suddenly a light breeze around them. She'd noticed that seemed to happen when she was practicing.

And then, slowly, Goten rose into the air.

"You mean…like this?" he asked, struggling to remain still while airborne.

_What? He did it already? But Gohan didn't tell him anything, really!_

It still took her a few seconds to fully register that a 7 year old boy was flying. _I really have stepped into a superhero comic,_ she thought. And it seemed like Goten wasn't having much trouble with it.

"Wow!" exclaimed Gohan, encouraging him. "That's amazing, Goten!"

"Look at me, Gohan!" said Goten. "I'm a little birdy!"

Gohan smiled. "You sure are!"

Goten was getting a bit more adventurous. He tried getting higher – and he fell to the ground.

Gohan ran over to him in concern, but it looked like Goten was fine.

As the brothers started talking to each other, Videl suddenly remembered _she _was supposed to be trying to fly, too. But she couldn't concentrate. She was getting annoyed. _Use your ki? _What kind of abstract lesson was that? Was it so hard for Gohan to do step-by-step instructions or something?

And, to top it all off, she was being outshone by a 7 year old! Maybe he understood what Gohan was talking about, but she didn't. It was so infuriating! Gohan wasn't even trying to help, spending all his attention on Goten.

"Gohan!" she called. "Have you forgotten about me?"

She had to be assertive about this. She wasn't going to lose this opportunity.

"Oh, Videl!" He ran over to her, suddenly remembering her presence.

"We've been here a while," he told her. "Do you think you should call your dad and tell him where you are?"

"I'm not moving an inch unless it's through the air," replied Videl stubbornly. If a 7 year old could get it in a few minutes, she could do it by today. It couldn't be that difficult.

Gohan sighed. "Ok, fair enough," he said. "Let's start from the beginning."

"Feel the energy from your stomach, then slowly bring it out. Relax your muscles."

_Good,_ she thought. _Concrete instructions._

Gohan seemed to have noticed his mistake. "I probably should have started off like this. It's just…I've never taught anyone before."

Videl tried to focus in the same way she did before lunch. She could do this.

"That's the energy! Now, push it up!"

So she was doing something right. Videl started to follow his instructions.

"No," Gohan stopped her. "Don't tense up. Relax."

_How does he know I'm tense? _But she listened to his instructions, anyway.

And then she felt no weight on her feet. She opened her eyes – and she was floating.

She'd done it! It wasn't much – she was only a few inches above the ground, and it was tiring her out fast. But she'd done it!

"You're doing it!" exclaimed Gohan. "You're in the air!"

"Gohan, be quiet!" she snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate."

She was amazed at how easy it ended up being. Actually, she was amazed that she'd done it in the first place. If it was this easy, why didn't anyone else know how to do it?

"That's incredible, Videl!" said Gohan as she landed. "No one learns how to fly on their first day!"

Videl motioned to Goten, who was busy whizzing around in the air, chanting "Birdy, birdy! Goten is a birdy!"

"Goten's an exception!" Gohan reassured her. "He's had a lot more practice. And besides, it's in his blood."

_Well, their parents _were_ Budokai finalists._

It was getting late in the afternoon. She had a long trip ahead of her, so she would have to leave now if she wanted to get home before dark.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she told him.

Gohan was confused. "But I already taught you how to fly! You just need a bit of private practice!"

"I want to know more about this…ki stuff," she said. The fact that she knew it was possible to fly…it didn't seem like such a fantasy after all. She was curious. After what happened today, she couldn't just leave and pretend that nothing happened.

She stared at him. "What, is that a problem?" she asked him.

Gohan waved his hands in defeat. "No! No problem. None at all!"

She uncapsuled her helicopter. "See you tomorrow," she said.

As she started to walk away, Gohan stopped her. "Uh, Videl?" he asked.

"Your hair…" he paused. "It might be better…short."

_What's that supposed to mean? Is he trying to flirt with me? _"What, do you like girls with short hair?" she asked him.

Gohan didn't understand. "It's just that long hair won't get in the way when you're fighting."

_That_ annoyed her. _Sure, try leading me on only to completely ignore it in the end._

"Why don't you leave my hair alone, you jerk!" she shouted at him.

She ran to the helicopter and took off as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Her anger subsided a bit while she was flying home. As she thought about it, she realised Gohan was probably right. Her pigtails might get in the way of the fight. But that just made things worse! She thought he was flirting with her, but he really wasn't! <em>I'm such an idiot! I probably made a fool of myself!<em>

But then again, it was also partially his fault. Surely he would have realised it sounded like he was flirting with her. Right? Were all boys this naïve? She didn't think they were. Maybe it was just Gohan. Either way, she was still a little mad at him. But she had already promised she'd be back tomorrow.

An idea took hold of her. Maybe it was madness, but as soon as she arrived home, she went to the bathroom and found a pair of scissors.

_He wants me with short hair? Fine! I'll show him!_

And she cut off her pigtails.

She hadn't done a fantastic job. While her hair was short, it was also a bit uneven. Normally, she would have minded. But, for some reason, she didn't care anymore. It didn't matter to her what her hair looked like. She was just caught up in the moment.

She went downstairs for dinner.

"So, how was your day?" asked her dad. Then he paused, registering her new haircut.

"What did you do?" he asked, a little angrily.

"I cut my hair," she said nonchalantly. "It would get in the way during the Budokai if it was too long."

Mr. Satan studied her intently, like this was out-of-character for her.

"It's not a big deal," she dismissed him. "Anyway, I'm going to train at that friend's place for a few more days."

"So you ARE dating!" her father exclaimed.

"Of course not," she said. "I just…" She tried to think of an excuse. If she didn't have a good reason, her father would probably ban her from going. Then she had an idea.

"I don't want to train with everyone watching. I want it to be a surprise. Just like how you train on your own."

That excuse seemed to do the trick. "Oh, of course!" said her father. "You don't want to make people jealous that you're better than them."

Videl was pleasantly surprised how well this excuse was working. "Definitely."

The next day, she went over to Gohan's place at around the same time. His reaction to seeing her new haircut – it was priceless.


	6. Relationships Grow

**[AN: This is basically just Gohan/Videl fluff. My aim for this story is to try and get into Videl's head. What would the 10 days of flying practice realistically BE like? How much would they practice? And, if they were talking and growing their relationship, what would it be about? Tried not to make it too romancey. Next chapter will be the tournament, I promise you.]**

By the end of the second day of flying practice, Videl had managed to get a bit higher off the ground. She was still a bit nervous going as high as Goten was. What happened if she fell? She needed to be fully in control before she experimented.

It was making her curious. Now that she knew flying was possible, she was wondering why she'd never seen anyone do it before. She needed to find out how Gohan learnt about this stuff.

"So, who taught you all this?" Videl asked. "Was it your dad?"

"Well, first it was someone named Piccolo," said Gohan. "Then my dad."

It was probably the best time to spit it out. "Where is your dad, anyway?"

Gohan's face fell a little. "He's…not with us anymore. He's been dead for 7 years."

_Oh, no. _"I'm…sorry about that." Videl said instinctively. She didn't want to sound insensitive, bringing up his dead father like that. "I lost my mum when I was young, too."

Gohan looked shocked. "You did?"

"Yeah," she said. "When I was 5. I barely remember her."

Gohan stared at her in pity. Then, he suddenly looked away, self-conscious.

Videl understood. He knew how she felt.

When one of your parents was dead, whenever you told someone, they always had that look of pity. "I'm so sorry," they would say. And, after many years, hearing the same words over and over again, the apologies would mesh together, turning into an uninteresting blob. The faces, the expressions, they became plastic. Nothing had meaning. You couldn't believe who was truly sincere. And, every time someone looked at you with those sad eyes, you couldn't deal with it.

The way Gohan looked away, trying to give her space, made her realise he had the same feelings. He knew she didn't want pity. And he probably didn't need her apologies, either.

"I shouldn't have brought it up," she said.

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Gohan. "There's no way you could have known."

"I hadn't seem him at your house," she said. "I should have figured out he had passed away. You probably still miss him a lot."

Gohan looked up to the sky. "I do," he said. "But I know he's happy. And I know that, somewhere, he's still watching over me."

It was a clichéd thing to say. Videl had heard it a lot from other people, trying to comfort her. She wasn't sure if she believed it.

"Do you really think so?" she asked.

"I'm positive," he replied. "He's not gone. Not really. I just hope he's proud of me."

"Why _wouldn't _he be proud of you?" asked Videl in disbelief. "You're a great guy."

Videl stopped. _Did I really just say that? What is going on with me? I never say stuff like that!_

She looked away, blushing. _I hope he didn't take that the wrong way!_

Gohan didn't seem to notice her reaction. "Well…thanks," he said.

Videl didn't know how to respond. She believed what she said, but it sounded so sappy and…almost romantic. She didn't want Gohan to think she was flirting with him! That would be a disaster!

She had to change the subject.

"By the way," she said. "Can you keep all of this a secret from my dad? I want to surprise him at the tournament." _After all, he might know how to do this stuff, as well._

"Well, if you say so," said Gohan.

"He wouldn't let me train here if he knew I was hanging out with you," she continued. "He says he'll only let me date someone who's stronger than him. Which, considering he's the world champion, is no one."

Gohan smiled. It was like he knew something she didn't. "Do you normally train with him?"

"Me? Fight with the world champion?" she asked incredulously. "Please. He doesn't even let me see him practice anymore. I guess he's doing some top-secret training."

"So, then, hypothetically, if someone was to beat your father at the tournament, would you be upset?"

"What?" exclaimed Videl. "Of course not! I wish someone would teach him a lesson! He's too stuck-up for his own good."

Her reaction surprised him. "But…he's your father…"

"So what?" she said. "Just because he's my parent doesn't mean he's perfect. He's just so arrogant sometimes! The way he acts like everyone's beneath him. Ever since mum died, he's been going out with all these women. It's like he's taking advantage of his title"

"But they think- I mean, they know he saved the world from Cell."

"That doesn't excuse it!" she snapped. "Sure, he saved the world. But that doesn't mean he can act like he's better than everyone else."

Gohan was suddenly silent. He looked deep in thought.

"…you're right," he finally said. "You're completely right."

* * *

><p>It was the third day of practice.<p>

"Videl?" asked Gohan. "I'm curious. Who taught _you _how to fight? Was it your dad?"

Videl was a little surprised that he wanted to know this. "At the beginning," she replied. "I had some other teachers a few years ago, but they're gone now. I guess you could say I've been self-taught for the past few years."

"Really?"

"What, is that a surprise?" she asked.

"A little," he replied. "I mean, you're very good."

_Tell me something I don't know. _"Well, I am the daughter of Mr. Satan."

Gohan shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean. To be honest…"

He paused.

Videl looked at him, urging him to continue. "What?"

"You might be stronger than your dad."

Videl's immediate reaction was disbelief. She started to laugh. "Don't be ridiculous, Gohan!" she said. "My dad's the World Champion! How could I be stronger than him?"

"Well…" It seemed like Gohan was holding some words back. Eventually, he tried to explain. "I've never seen anyone master flying this quickly."

His comments were making her feel strangely self-conscious. People told her she was good, but no one ever suggested she was near her dad. He had saved the world. All she had done was beat up a few criminals. Perhaps Gohan was just exaggerating. It wasn't like he had taught many other people how to fly.

"I'm sure my dad or anyone else would be able to do it." She didn't know the extent of her father's power, but it must even greater than she could imagine.

Gohan shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "Flying isn't easy. That's why I thought you might not be able to do it at first. It's amazing how quickly you're learning, especially for a-"

He suddenly stopped, looking horrified. Obviously, he was going to say something he would regret.

"'For a' what?" Now Videl was curious. "For a girl?" she suggested.

Gohan started to get flustered. "No! I mean, yes! I mean…"

_Is he trying to insult me or something?_

[AN: He was going to say "Especially for a human!" Luckily, he stopped himself in time.]

Luckily, he regained his composure. "It's just that…you're _really _good. Much better than I ever expected."

Videl chucked. "You and everyone else. People always underestimate me."

Suddenly, Videl felt a raindrop on her head. "I think it's starting to rain," she said.

Gohan looked around, and then agreed. "We'd better get inside."

Once they were safely inside his house, and the rain started getting heavier, she decided to wait until it stopped. If it took too long, they wouldn't have time to practice before she had to leave for the day.

Goten soon arrived, rushing into the house to avoid the rain. From what Videl could tell, Goten was very independent, often playing on his own in the forest around their house. He showed up every now and then during their training, but seemed perfectly content to be alone. He was very cute. It made Videl almost wish she had a little brother. She could have really used the company when she was growing up.

She decided she needed to go to the bathroom. As she got out, she noticed the door to the room nearest was ajar. Curious, she walked inside. It was Gohan's bedroom.

Gohan's room was both exactly what she expected and something entirely surprising. Dozens of books lined the shelves – everything from children's' picture books to academic books with complicated titles to simple novels. They seemed to be placed on shelves with no real concern for order. A large white telescope was carefully facing the window. But on the wall above his desk was an orange and blue martial arts uniform. At first, she thought it was his, but it looked a bit big. She realised it probably belonged to her father. That made her a little depressed.

Walking further into the room, she noticed a strange compilation of items on his desk. There was a bandanna, with a pair of sunglasses placed on top of it. But the strangest item was what looked like a computer chip. Videl picked it up and examined it, careful not to accidentally damage it. From what she could tell, it looked like someone had tried to crush it. It clearly wasn't working anymore, and the connectors were all damaged, so it couldn't be placed into anything. What a piece of scrap like this was doing on his desk, she didn't know.

She turned around, and noticed a small photograph in a picture frame on one of the bookshelves. There were two people in it, but she couldn't make out their features. She tried walking up to it…

And bumped into Gohan.

"Videl?" he asked, a little confused. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Oh!" She suddenly felt embarrassed. "I just wanted to see what was in here. It was closed every other time I've walked past."

Gohan sighed. "Well, here's my room. Sorry for the mess. My mother's a bit of a hoarder when it comes to all the books. She says you never know when you might need one of them."

Videl had to smile. "It's OK. My room's really messy, as well. My dad always gets mad at me, but I can't help it."

Gohan motioned for her to leave, which she did. But as she left, she noticed that the picture frame had been surreptitiously placed face-down. Was that a coincidence, or did Gohan move it? She hadn't even noticed.

* * *

><p>On the fourth day, Videl suddenly realised Gohan was missing as much school as she was. She found that in itself strange. He seemed to still be a nerd, if his bedroom taught her anything. Why would he skip class?<p>

"So, how long are you taking off school, anyway?" she started to ask him.

"Oh!" The question took him by surprise. "Until the tournament." He sighed, then admitted. "I'm a little bit out of practice. I need all the time I can get."

"Do you have a gate pass?" Videl had one, although she hardly ever used it.

Because of her father's status, the school wasn't going to deny her time off to train for the tournament. They had plenty of warning in advance. However, they wanted her to at least try to come to some lessons. To solve this, they gave her a gate pass. It allowed her to come and leave the school whenever she pleased, so she could come to school for particular classes if she wanted to. It was almost like being a senior.

When she explained this to Gohan, he shook his head. "I need the whole time." But he still seemed disappointed. "I wish I could come to school, especially because I just started."

_God, he's such a geek._ But, at the same time, she felt sorry for him. "I can give you a copy of the catch-up papers my teachers gave me. It's basically work on all the stuff we're going to miss this month."

His expression brightened. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure!" Videl felt glad she could at least help. "I thought you would have gotten a copy, too."

"I didn't give them much notice," he explained. "They probably didn't have time to make another copy."

Thinking about it, Videl realised how unusual it was. "I'm surprised you're missing this much school. It doesn't seem like you."

"You're right," Gohan agreed. And then he smiled. "But let's just say…this is a family occasion. And family comes first."

* * *

><p>On their last day of practice, she found out something that surprised her.<p>

"Just so you know," started Gohan. "I'm signing up as the Great Saiyaman. If you want to know where I am."

_As the Great Saiyaman? Not as himself?_ "Why?" she asked.

"Because I don't want everyone to know it's me," replied Gohan, a little shyly.

"Why?" she repeated. It wasn't like it was something to be ashamed of. He should be proud!

"Because…" Gohan paused. "I don't want people to treat me differently."

"No one's going to treat you differently," she reassured him. While the people at school could be petty and annoying, they wouldn't care if he did martial arts. They wouldn't judge popularity based on how easily they could beat someone up. At least, the girls definitely wouldn't.

Gohan didn't look like he believed her. "That's what you say. But…for example…what if they knew I was the Great Saiyaman? Wouldn't that make them treat me differently?"

_It would make them offer you fashion tips,_ she thought. And that thought made her realise that he was right.

"Maybe," she said honestly. "I don't know. I guess I would."

"Exactly!" said Gohan. "That's why I don't want anyone to know."

"You shouldn't care what other people think," she told him.

But Videl realised it was hypocritical to say that. _She_ cared what people thought of her. Despite her thoughts of the contrary, she still cared about her popularity. If you acted weirdly, then people would shun you. That's why it was so important to act normally, even if you didn't fully understand what 'normal' meant.

Gohan seemed to understand what she was thinking. "It's difficult, isn't it?" he asked. "This 'fitting in' stuff. I didn't imagine how hard it would be for me."

It was such an adorably honest thing to say. It made Videl realise she understood him. He was a home-schooled fighting prodigy with apparently no friends his age and very little contact with other teenagers until now. No wonder it would be difficult for him to fit in, especially in high school.

And then Videl felt a bit guilty for judging him so quickly when he arrived at school. All he probably wanted was for people to like him, but he was scared they would think he was a complete weirdo. She was just as guilty as everyone else for avoiding him. After all, if she hadn't been trying to work out his secret, she doubted she would have even talked to him. She didn't usually make friends with nerds.

"Hey," she said, suddenly wanting to make it up to him. "I'm sorry if I wasn't that friendly when you first came to school. I just wasn't sure who you were."

"No, no, you don't need to apologize!" he replied. "You probably thought I was weird."

"You're not weird," said Videl. "Not really. I mean, I thought you were, but now that I've gotten to know you properly, you're actually a really nice guy."

"Oh…um…" Gohan seemed embarrassed by the compliments.

"Tell you what, after the Budokai, when we get back to school, you can sit with me and my friends. If you don't make any other friends, I mean."

It was the least she could do. He _did_ seem pretty lonely at school. He sat with them, but only because Erasa was trying to be friendly. Videl had been acting rather hostile to him. But that was before she really knew him.

Gohan was quiet for a while. "Thanks, Videl," he said finally. "That means a lot."

Videl was happy just to hear him say thanks. That rush you got when you helped people – it was one of the best feelings you could have.

And it seemed like there was another unfamiliar feeling in there as well.


	7. The Tenkaichi Budokai

**[AN: Hey, guys! Thanks for sticking around. Starting the World Tournament Saga, things are getting a little more interesting. We have more plot, although you'll be familiar with it if you've watched the show/read the manga. Not much more to say]**

That morning of the tournament, Videl woke up well and rested. She was a little nervous, but most of all, she was excited! It had been almost 7 years since the last Budokai. This time, she could participate in the adult division along with everyone else.

"Say, dad?" she asked as they loaded their stuff on the helicopter. "What happens if we get put against each other?"

"We fight, of course!" he exclaimed. "Don't you want to?"

"Of course!" she replied. "But I don't want you going easy on me just because I'm your daughter. I hate it when people take it easy on me."

After a few delays, they flew to the tournament, which wasn't too far away from where they lived. Of course, the media was there as soon as they arrived. She was already used to the barrage of cameras, microphones and people who wanted to talk to her dad. It was probably the largest crowd she'd seen in a few years.

"So, Videl," asked one of the reporters. "What will you do if you have to face your father?"

_Huh, a question for me. That doesn't normally happen. _"I dunno. I guess I'll punch?"

They all laughed. "That's my girl!" exclaimed her father, putting his arm around her.

"Dad, stop it!" she said quietly. _I'm not 9 years old anymore!_

Eventually, the cameras dissipated a bit, and she was able to look around. _I need to find Gohan,_ she thought. _If he's really signing up as the Great Saiyaman, he should be easy to spot._

"I'm looking for some friends," she told her father. "I'll be back."

"Hold on a minute!" he said. "Don't you want to come with me?"

"Not really," she admitted. All the attention her father got – it was nauseating after a while. Besides, she wanted to look around at her own pace.

Her father left, with the cameras following him. Videl realised that he looked offended. Her words must have upset him. That was surprising. She didn't think he would have cared that much.

As she walked over to the sign-ups area, she saw Gohan. He definitely stood out from the crowd. _God, I can't believe he's fighting wearing that._ He was in the Great Saiyaman outfit, cape and all. Although, instead of wearing a helmet, he had a bandanna and sunglasses. She couldn't decide if that made him look more or less goofy.

He was talking with another man who looked somewhat familiar. She walked over to him eagerly. "Hey, Goh- I mean, The Great Saiyaman."

"Videl?" Gohan smiled. "Hi! I didn't think I'd see you this soon! I thought you'd be with your dad."

"Please," she said. "His ego gets so big during these tournaments, I doubt he'd even realise I was there."

Gohan chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

Videl was just about to say that he shouldn't insult her dad just because she did, when the man Gohan was talking to before interrupted. "So, who is this?"

"Oh!" Gohan made his introductions. "Dad, this is Videl. She's…a friend of mine from school. Videl, this is my father, Goku."

_His father?_ When she looked at Goku closely, she could see the resemblance. He looked like an adult version of Goten. It was actually quite uncanny how similar their hair was. That was probably why he had looked familiar.

_Wait a second…_"I thought your father was…well…dead."

"He is," said Gohan. "See the halo on top of his head?"

_What?_ But when she looked, she could see what seemed to be a halo, floating above his head. It definitely looked real. She could only stare in bewilderment.

"I was allowed to come back for one day," explained Goku, seeing her expression. "So I chose the day of the tournament so I could fight one last time. And see everyone, of course. They sure have grown!"

_That doesn't clear up anything! _But they already started walking away.

So, Son Goku was alive again. For one day, apparently. She would normally not believe it, but she had the strangest feeling this wasn't going to be the last weird thing happening today. _Might as well accept it. It's not like I can pretend he isn't there._

She thought about following them, but decided not to. After all, if his father _was_ back for only one day, she wouldn't want to waste any of Gohan's remaining time with his father. He probably had a lot he wanted to talk to him about.

Then she realised something. _I wonder what my _father_ will think of this champion coming back?_

* * *

><p>Eventually, the announcement came to go to the qualifying round.<p>

The staff explained that there would be no preliminary rounds. Instead, there would be a punching machine, and the highest 16 scores would go straight to the finals. While that saved the weaker people a bit of embarrassment, as they didn't have to get beaten up by the stronger fighters in front of everyone, it still meant their overall strength would be shown to the world. _I just hope I don't screw up and get a low number._

Of course, her dad went first. After a lot of buttering up the crowd and posing, he punched the machine. His score was 137.

_Go, dad! _She thought with pride. _137 sounds like a great score! _Suitable for the world champion. A few people went after him, but they couldn't reach his score.

While the contestants were being scored, she saw Gohan amongst the sea of competitors. He was with a small group of people who were all eagerly talking to his apparently dead father. It was a strange group, to say the least. Besides Gohan and his father, there was a stoic blonde woman, a man who looked like he had green skin, wearing a turban, and two shorter men with long hair. It was one of the strangest groups of fighters she'd ever seen. Despite that – or perhaps because of it – some of them looked familiar. She had seen some of them before, but where? Perhaps during the previous tournament? That made the most sense.

After a few competitors tried the machine, with no one reaching her fathers' score, the woman from that group was called up. "#18," called the announcer. "Is that your real name?"

"My father was a little dull," she replied.

She hit the machine effortlessly. The score was…774?

_OK, something is clearly screwing up._ The staff looked a bit confused, too. "I think something's wrong with the machine," said one of them.

She retried, but still got over 200.

The others in Gohan's group went up, and their scores were also around that high. Something was going wrong.

As the staff were fussing around the machine, one of the shorter men with hair that looked like it required a ridiculous amount of gel went up, getting frustrated. When he punched the machine, it flew several feet, hit the wall, and fell apart, broken.

Videl looked in shock. For a moment, it looked like he punched the machine so hard that he broke it. _The machine was clearly malfunctioning, _she thought._ It was screwing up before. That once punch was obviously the last straw, and it broke._ But at the same time…_Those people all got similar scores. They were all consistently high. What if it wasn't broken?_

That wasn't possible, she realised. If the machine wasn't broken, that would mean all of those people were stronger than her dad. _And we all know that isn't true._

As the staff desperately searched for a spare machine, she went up to Gohan. _He didn't get a chance to go on the machine,_ she realised. They let his friends go through begrudgingly, so he was left there alone.

"Some malfunction, huh?" she asked.

"Oh…yeah…" he stammered. "Sure was strange."

"I can't believe the machine broke," she said. They started forming a line to get a chance on the new machine once it came out. "If this takes too long, we're going to miss the junior league."

Gohan looked shocked. "But my brother's in the junior league!"

"That sucks," she said. "I'd hate to miss my brother's match, if I had one." But at the same time, she thought, _he's only 7. People up to 15 years old can participate. The odds are he'll be eliminated the first match._

_But he can fly,_ a small voice in Videl's head told her. _You've seen it._

_He's still only 7,_ another voice replied. _Just because he can fly doesn't mean he's a good fighter._

Unfortunately, the new machine was taking a while to calibrate. "I hate waiting in line," she said. "I should have gone with my dad. Then I would have gone earlier, before it broke."

"You'd have to deal with his ego, though," said Gohan. "I thought you said you didn't like that." He looked at her sincerely, trying to show that he wasn't intentionally trying to offend her by insulting her father.

Videl sighed. "True enough."

As she was waiting, some of the media representatives turned up with notepads and started interviewing the contestants. Listening to them was a good way to pass the time.

One of the interviewers went up to her, notepad ready. "So, Videl," he asked. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm OK," she replied. She wasn't in such a talkative mood. "Where did the cameras go?"

"Oh…" the interviewer looked a little embarrassed. "There was some kind of technical issue. The cameras aren't working. Not even the backup cameras. So we're stuck with using the old-fashioned methods for now."

"Huh. That's weird."

Gohan suddenly seemed intent on looking the other way.

The machine was nearly ready when she heard the name Goten from the announcer, commentating at the arena. "Oh, no!" she cried. "We're missing your brother!"

"Don't worry about it," Gohan assured her. "It's only the first match. I'm sure my brother will be fine. We'll be there for the finals."

_You really have a lot of faith in him,_ she thought. But Goten won that match, quite quickly according to the announcer. She just wished she was there to see it.

Finally, _finally,_ the new machine was up and running. They were near the front of the line, so in no time it was Gohan's turn to qualify.

Gohan looked quite nervous. _I'm sure he'll qualify, he doesn't need to look so scared._ He stood there, concentrating for a while, and eventually hit the machine. It looked like he wasn't giving it his all, which she thought was strange.

The machine read 214. The staff started groaning as they looked at the machine again. Was this one broken, too?

But Videl had a gut feeling that it wasn't broken. _Maybe that's why Gohan was so nervous,_ she thought. _He thought he would get too high._ And if they were delayed to recalibrate the machine, he would probably miss the entire junior league.

She stepped in. "The machine is fine," she said. "Let him in."

"But the machine says…"

"I know what the machine says!" she cried. "Just trust me, it's not broken."

"But, Videl," one of the staff members insisted. "If that's true, that would mean he did better than Mr. Satan -"

"I know that!" she replied. "Don't you think my father would want to fight someone as strong as him?"

They were still hesitating. "His _brother_ is fighting in the junior league. Please, let him through! If we recalibrate it again he's going to miss his fight!"

She didn't know if it was her pleading, or the power of the name of Mr. Satan, but they eventually agreed. "I don't know how you did it," one of them told Gohan. "But just go on ahead."

Gohan broke into a grin. "Oh, thank you so much!" He turned to her. "Thanks, Videl!"

Videl looked at him, annoyed. "Hurry up," she said. "You don't want to miss anything."

"I will," he said, and he ran off.

As she saw him leave, she felt…happy? Just hearing him thank her made her chest flutter a little. But there was no time to think about that. It was her turn to qualify, and that was part of the reason she sent Gohan off. She didn't want him to see her score. Not after what he got.

_Focus, Videl,_ she thought. _All your training is coming to this._

She punched the machine as hard as she could. The score was…123.

"Ooh, nice one," said the staff member, impressed. "Go on ahead."

123. That was decent. But at the same time, she had a nagging feeling that she could have done better. _Maybe Gohan was right. Maybe I AM stronger than my dad._

But what would that make her?


	8. Goten vs Trunks

Videl arrived at the stadium. The familiar ring made her feel a little nostalgic. The last time she was here, she had been fighting in the Junior League, as well. It was interesting being a spectator for people younger than her.

When she looked around the arena, she saw Gohan leaning over one of the railings on one of the top floors. There weren't any seats that high up, but it gave a prime view of the incoming matches. With him were the other members of his group, the ones that all got the uncommonly high scores, including his father.

She took the stairs up to where they were standing. She was curious about how they'd react to the upcoming fights.

"Hi," she announced.

"Oh, Videl!" Gohan turned around saw her. "Did you qualify?"

"Of course," she said dismissively. "I am the daughter of Mr. Satan, after all."

The group all started smiling strangely, like they had the desire to laugh.

She ignored it. "So, what's going on?" she asked.

"Goten and Trunks are fighting in the finals," said Gohan.

_Goten got to the finals? I guess Gohan's faith in him wasn't misplaced after all._ "Who's this 'Trunks'?"

"He's Vegeta's son," said Gohan, motioning to the man with the crazy hair, the one who broke the machine.

"I hope you're ready for this, Kakkarot," said Vegeta to Gohan's father. "Let's see if you can recover from the shame when my son beats yours,"

_Who's Kakkarot? Probably some sort of nickname._ Maybe she should have gone with her father on the ground floor. She didn't really know these people. A moment later, she dismissed those thoughts. _Nah. It's just spectating, anyway._

"Trunks is a year older," said one of the others. "It's not completely fair,"

The boys then came out. The announcer started raving about their apparent talent, how they had both breezed through all their previous matches, at the ages of 7 and 8. Whatever was going to happen, it was clear this was going to be an interesting fight.

She could see Goten. Trunks was a similar size to him. Comparing the two, she could somewhat see his resemblance to Vegeta. He didn't look nearly as much like his father than Goten did.

Next to her, she noticed Gohan clutching tightly onto the railing. For some reason, he looked a little nervous.

"Goten'll be fine," she assured him. "Even if he doesn't win, 2nd place is still something worth celebrating."

"That's not what I'm worried about…" he said.

The boys faced one another and bowed.

And they rushed towards each other faster than she could ever believe. As they started fighting, she could barely keep up with their punches and kicks. It was like watching adults fight, but they were only children! Heck, it wasn't even like an adult fight! At least in an adult fight she could at least follow what was going on. With these two boys, the minute you blinked they were somewhere else. _How are they so good? _Videl thought. _I've never seen kids move this fast. I don't even think I've seen adults move this fast!_

The announcer did his best to commentate, but it sounded to her like even he was having trouble keeping up. On the other hand, Gohan's group behind her seemed to understand exactly what was going on. His father congratulated him for doing such a good job training Goten. Gohan, in his usual fashion, got flustered and said it was nothing.

The two boys seemed evenly matched until they went too high in the air – and stayed there. _They're flying, _she realised. _They're _both _flying. _

She had seen Goten do it before, but hadn't expected for him to use it during the fight. And the fact that this Trunks kid could do it as well was a bit unexpected. It would make interesting commentating, at least.

They arrived back on the ground, staring at each other. From their expressions, it looked like that was just a warm up. But that was ridiculous. She could barely follow them, but they didn't even look tired.

The two boys stood talking for a while, before Trunks decided to get serious. He opened his hands and shot out…some sort of energy blast?

_It's just like what Goten did when we started training. _If they could both do it, then it couldn't have been a trick…could it?

Goten, eager to impress, tried to do the same thing. Only his aim wasn't as good as Trunks' and, instead of flying over the audience, hit the roof of one of the buildings. And it definitely made an impact. It left a sizeable hole in the roof. It made her wonder what would happen if they hit one of the spectators.

Videl suddenly realised, _if they're not careful, they could really hurt someone._

Luckily, the boys decided to stop that and go back to fighting. Trunks threw Goten in the air. But while Goten stopped himself in mid-air by flying, Trunks flew behind him and got him in a strangle hold.

"Get free, Goten!" Gohan cried.

Trunks had a firm grip on him. Goten was struggling to free himself, but it didn't seem to be working very well. Videl was just thinking that maybe Trunks had this fight in the bag, when there was suddenly a flash of light. The next thing she knew, Goten had easily broken free and thrown Trunks to the ground. But there was something strange about it.

Goten seemed to be…glowing? And his hair looked different. It definitely wasn't black anymore. But the light made it a bit hard to see.

Gohan groaned. "No, Goten!" he yelled. "I told you, you weren't supposed to do that!"

_Supposed to do what?_ Before she could get a better look at Goten, he went back to normal. _So, he can…change his hair colour? _It made no sense. How did he do that? _What_ did he even do?

Trunks looked annoyed as well. By the looks of it, it seemed like the…hair thing was something he'd agreed not to do.

Goten seemed to realise his mistake, and the two boys continued to fight, just as ridiculously fast as ever. Trunks, for some reason, was only using one hand. _Either he's injured or he thinks he can win even with one hand._

Goten flew up in the air and dove down at high speed. Trunks tried to dodge, but Goten just followed after him. Just as Goten was about to hit him, Trunks burst into light and fired one of those blasts at Goten with his right hand, the one that looked like it was injured. _He was just pretending to be hurt,_ she realised. She didn't know if that was smart or really dirty tactics. It was probably both.

That seemed to be too much for Goten. He went flying towards the bleachers at a high speed. The audience desperately evacuated their seats. At first, Videl was worried he might hit them, but it looked like he was managing to slow himself down in mid-air. Maybe he wasn't out of the running after all. _If he doesn't hit the ground, it wouldn't count as a ring-out, would it?_

But it wasn't enough. Slowly, his feet touched the seats.

"Goten has left the ring! Trunks wins!"

The audience cheered. Even Gohan and his father weren't that disappointed that Goten lost. After all, the fight seemed evenly matched for quite a bit of it. Goten was amazing fighting out there, and so was Trunks. She was surprised that Vegeta wasn't that excited that his son had won. But, then again, he hadn't been that excited during the match itself. Maybe he had thought his son could do better? Although that would be ridiculous. She'd never seen kids that fast before.

Then she heard the announcers' voice.

"As a new tradition, Trunks will now face the current champion, Mr. Satan!"

THAT was new. So her father was going to fight? She almost felt sorry for Trunks. He was good, she couldn't deny that, but there was no way he could be as good as the World Champion.

The other members of their group started leaving, which she thought was strange. "Aren't you guys going to watch my father fight Trunks?" she asked them.

"There's no point," said Vegeta. "We know how it ends."

She was about to ask for clarification when Gohan jumped in. "How about you guys get going?" he said, lightly nudging them away.

He moved in next to her when they had all left. "I might as well watch."

"What did they mean by 'they know how it ends'?" she asked.

He dismissed it. "Oh, it's nothing. They're…um…always joking."

She didn't believe him. One thing she'd noticed was that Gohan was a terrible liar. And she knew that he was keeping something from her.

Her father stepped onto the ring. As usual, he spent a long time posing for the crowd. In contrast, Trunks looked quite bored. He didn't seem to care that he was fighting the winner of the last tournament. In a way, it was like he was acting as arrogant as her father. After all, Mr. Satan was the World Champion. This boy had no right to act like her father was beneath him.

As the fight started, Mr. Satan went up to Trunks and started whispering in his ear. She had no idea what they would be talking about, but Trunks didn't seem particularly interested with whatever it was.

They stopped talking and got ready to fight. Suddenly determined, Trunks threw a punch at Mr. Satan…and the impact made him fly out of the arena immediately. He hit the wall with a surprising force. It looked like it would hurt.

At first, Videl was shocked. _My father couldn't have been defeated that quickly. _It was like he wasn't even fighting back. Unless, of course, that was his intention all along.

Everything became clear then. "He lost on purpose!" she exclaimed. "He gave Trunks a free shot so he wouldn't be embarrassed!"

It was so unlike her father, but at the same time, so kind. She was impressed he would sacrifice his pride to help a little boy. Her father never liked losing, even if it was on purpose.

"Oh," said Gohan. He looked unsure. "Do you think?"

"Of course," she said. "What do you think he was talking to the kid about? He was explaining the plan to him."

Gohan laughed nervously. "Oh, sure, that makes sense!" But he didn't sound entirely honest.

Videl was suddenly realising a lot of these 'secrets' that Gohan's group had seemed to revolve around her father. _They had better explain this stuff soon. I know they're keeping something from me, and I want to know what it is._

* * *

><p>After a snack in which Gohan's group ate more than she thought possible from a group that size, they drew their matches for the first round. She was facing someone called Spopovich, who had apparently been in a Budokai before. He looked rather large, but she wasn't that intimidated. She was the daughter of the champion. She'd be fine if she kept her head straight. And besides, her father had beaten Spopovich in the last tournament. If he could do it, she at least had a chance.<p>

She was the third match, after Krillin vs Punta and Demon Jr. vs Shin. Krillin and Demon Jr. were both part of Gohan's group. It made her realise how much space they took up in the finals. There were…she counted…6 of them. That was a lot for one group! Even if they were all former finalists, it was unusual that they were all so close. The way they acted made it sound like they had all been close friends for years.

Gohan was fighting someone called Kibito. His group of friends mentioned they had a bad feeling about him and his companion, a short man with a rather ridiculous purple Mohawk named Shin. Videl wasn't sure what they meant by that. His match was directly after hers. She realised she'd have to get changed quickly if she wanted to see Gohan's whole match. There was no way she'd miss it. She wanted to see what he was capable of.

She prepared for her fight, although she heard from the loudspeaker that Krillin won his first match, and Demon Jr. forfeited against Shin. She never understood why people forfeited. Why would someone give up without giving it their all? If their opponent truly _was_ better than them, they could cause a ring-out or a knockout pretty quickly. So, if they weren't being utterly beaten, there could still be a chance that they could win. Forfeiting would mean giving up that chance.

And then it was her turn.


	9. Videl vs Spopovich

**[AN: I wish I didn't have to write this chapter. There is so much wrong with this scene, both literally and thematically. I could write a mini-essay on the unfortunate implications of how this scene is presented. But I won't. And I'm sticking to canon, so I'm leaving it in. I'm trying to avoid some of the...weird subtext to it, though.]**

As Videl walked in for her match, the band started playing to announce her entrance. She didn't normally want that kind of attention, but at the same time, it helped ease her nerves a bit. She didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit nervous. It was her first adult fight, after all. This Spopovich might be tough, even if her father beat him before.

Speaking of her father, where was he? When she looked at his normal seat, it was empty. Was he missing the match? Why would he do that? Perhaps he was just being fashionably late. That was the only excuse she could think of. If he didn't come soon, she was going to get seriously pissed off.

Spopovich walked in opposite her. No one seemed to be cheering for him. _At least the morale is on my side_, she thought. But, at the same time, he looked huge. Size didn't always mean strength, but it did make him seem intimidating. He also had some kind of tattoo on his forehead that looked like a curvy letter 'M'. What did that mean? Was he part of a gang or something?

She could do this. She could beat him. All she needed to do was remember her training. And, if worse came to worse, she could fly. She was only saving that for a last resort, though. While the announcer didn't seem to have any trouble with Goten and Trunks flying, she wasn't sure if it was against the rules of not. After all, if someone could fly, how could they ever get launched out of the ring?

_Launching a guy that big out of the ring will be difficult,_ she thought. _My best bet is to knock him out. What's that expression? 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'? Maybe I can knock him off-balance and get him to fall over._

Then the match began.

Spopovich came at her. The moment he started to fight, she understood. He wasn't just built like a tank – he moved like one, too. He was just too slow. This would be an easy victory.

As he ran at her, she calmly and quickly gave him a kick to his chest. The force was enough to send him crashing to the ground. Videl smirked. What had she been nervous about? She was stronger than him. Stronger, and faster.

Of course, one blow wasn't enough to take down this guy. He had gotten to the finals for a reason. Spopovich stared down at her, and ran at her again.

_Again?_ It only took another few well-placed blows before he was back on the floor.

But that was when things started getting weird. He got up, again, and charged at her a third time. But he didn't seem to be any slower than before. How was that possible? Surely he would have been a little injured, or at least fatigued. And it wasn't like she could keep on hitting him forever. Even she would get tired after a while.

The longer the match went on, the stronger it felt like Spopovich became. Her gut feeling was right. He wasn't losing any stamina. In fact, it felt like the opposite was occurring. He was getting more and more hits on her, but it wasn't because she was getting careless. He just seemed to be faster and stronger every time he came back up.

_One strong blow,_ she thought. _One strong blow and I might be able to knock him out for good._ She couldn't continue like this. Trying to gather as much strength as she could, she hit him in the neck. And then she heard a crack. Spopovich became motionless. His neck was broken. She'd broken it.

Terror swept through her. _Did I kill him? I couldn't…I never meant to…_ She couldn't even comprehend it. But that intense fear was short-lived. Spopovich simply…moved his neck back into place. _What? _Suddenly he was back to normal, like she hadn't even hit him. Videl could only stare in disbelief. What was going on? That wasn't normal. That wasn't even physically possible. And yet…

Near the edge of the arena, she could hear a voice, yelling at her.

"Give up, Videl!" she heard. "You can't win!"

_What? I'm not giving up! _"Shut up!" she yelled. What did they know? All they could see was that she was getting hit a few times. Did that mean she had no chance? Of course not! Spopovich could let his guard down, or run out of energy, or something! The fight wasn't over yet.

Spopovich looked at her, snarling with rage. And he spoke for the first time since the match began.

"You're going to PAY for that!" he yelled.

And then, it was like Spopovich had suddenly become twice as fast. She could barely process him moving before he gave her a huge blow to the face.

Videl fell back. That blow was a lot stronger than she thought. It…it hurt. It _really_ hurt. Touching where the blow was, as she moved her hand away, she could see the blood now on it. Seeing it made her realise she couldn't afford to get hit again. Not with the strength that one punch did. It was already getting hard to focus through the pain.

She had to do it. She had to fly.

Focusing her energy, just like Gohan taught her, she took to the air. If she stayed up here for a while, Spopovich couldn't be able to follow her. At least she could get a bit of her strength back. That punch took a lot out of her.

But that glimmer of hope was extinguished when Spopovich…followed her into the air. _He can fly? _Videl couldn't understand it. _How could he fly if my father can't even do it? It makes no sense!_

Spopovich held out his hand, and there was suddenly a terrible, piercing pain in her chest. Losing control, she fell to the ground. She managed to slow herself just long enough so that it wouldn't hurt _too _much to hit the ground. But she didn't know what happened. What made her fall out of the air like that? What did he do to her?

Meanwhile, Spopovich seemed to be at full strength still. He picked her up and gave her a huge punch in the gut. Coughing up blood, Videl felt weak and defenceless. She'd never had a challenge like this before. Because she understood now that he was stronger than her. But that didn't mean he was normal. And neither did it mean she was out of the game yet.

As he picked her up a second time, she gathered all her strength and kicked him in the jaw. But this time, it didn't even faze him. He didn't even flinch. Before, at least he reacted to her blows. But now it was like he didn't even feel it.

Spopovich unceremoniously dropped her on the floor, and placed his foot on top of her head. _He's going to try and crush my head,_ she realised. _He's going to try and KILL me!_ He placed pressure on her head. The pain was incredible. All she could do was scream, desperately trying to get him to stop. It just didn't make sense. If Spopovich was this strong, why didn't he just make her ring-out? She couldn't do anything. And if he _killed_ her, he'd be disqualified. But he didn't seem to want to stop hurting her.

She had to give up. The rules of the tournament weren't more important than her _life_! But, just as she was going to surrender, the pressure suddenly stopped. Spopovich took his foot of her head. Something was happening outside the arena, but she was in too much pain. She couldn't see or hear what was going on.

Suddenly, she felt herself being launched outside the ring, and her head hit the side of the arena. Not too hard, luckily. _It's over_, she realised through her pain-soaked mind. _Spopovich decided to end it._

"Videl is out of the arena! Spopovich wins!"

Relief filled her mind. She didn't have to give up after all. The shock of that almost made her lose what little consciousness she had. Far, far away she felt someone pick her up. _The medic, perhaps?_ But they didn't seem to be putting her on a stretcher. With great difficulty, she opened her eyes. Someone was holding her. She could see a flash of green, and a familiar, spiky haircut.

"Gohan?" she managed to ask.

"It's OK," he said. "It's over now."

She felt the sensation of being moved. _He's carrying me, _she realised. She knew he didn't need to – there were medics and staff who would normally have that job. So, the fact that he was carrying her by himself meant a lot to her.

The pain became too much. She lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Videl awoke to the sound of her father's gruff yelling.<p>

"How could she lose? She's supposed to be almost as strong as me!"

_That_ got her annoyed. She snapped her eyes open. "Dad? Where were you during the match!"

Briefly disoriented, Videl looked at her surroundings. She was in the hospital ward, getting her wounds treated. While she had been out cold, they had stitched up a lot of the worst looking areas. That was nice of them. It would have been a lot more painful if she had been awake when it happened.

"Videl!" cried her father, looking at her with concern. "Are you OK?"

_It's just pain, I can toughen it out, _she thought, but she realised saying that would be lying to herself. She felt tired, and weak, and she could barely move her legs. Not to mention she had a massive headache.

"No," she admitted. "Is anything broken?"

"You narrowly escaped broken bones," the medic informed her. "You have a few nasty fractures, though. They'll take at least a few weeks to heal properly."

At least she didn't have any more matches to fight. But there was something missing. "Where's Gohan?" she asked.

"The young man who brought you in? He rushed off saying he was going to get some sort of bean. He told me to tell you that."

"A bean?" she asked.

The medic shrugged. "I thought you'd understand what he meant."

"What happened, Videl?" asked her father, looking a little disappointed. "Spopovich should have been a pushover for you! I've beat him before."

She remembered how Spopovich pulled his neck back into place. "Dad, there's something wrong with him. When I was fighting him, he shrugged off my blows like it was nothing."

"You clearly weren't hitting him hard enough," her father insisted.

"I was hitting him as hard as I could," she said. "And I _felt_ it hit the mark. He should have at least been slowed down, but he wasn't. It was like…he couldn't feel pain." She didn't want to talk about when she thought she broke his neck. Her father wouldn't be happy about that.

"That doesn't seem possible," said the medic. "I've never heard of anything like that in my experience."

_You haven't seen what I've seen today,_ she thought. _You'd believe it if you were there._

Videl started to think that maybe things were getting more serious than she thought. After all, if Spopovich was going to fight Gohan…_ I don't want Gohan to get hurt, like I did. Even if he is stronger than me, which he probably is, that might not make a difference with Spopovich. It was like…he wasn't even human anymore. I have to tell him to be careful. _Of course, Gohan would have to win his first match before he would face Spopovich. But she had faith in him.

Someone rushed in. It was Gohan. Her heart leapt when she saw him.

"I have the Senzu Bean!" he exclaimed, showing her a small green bean clutched in his hands.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just take it, it'll help you get better."

_That tiny thing is going to help? It doesn't look like any medicine I've seen before. But, then again, this is Gohan._

"Knowing you, something weird is going to happen when I eat it, isn't it?" she asked.

Gohan smiled. "You could say that."

"Now hold on a second!" her father interrupted their conversation. "I don't know who are, but you can't just be giving something to my daughter! How do we know it's safe?"

She knew her father was looking out for her, but this was Gohan they were talking about. He was the last person she'd expect to try and…poison her? She didn't know what her father was worried about. If Gohan was trying to hurt her, he wouldn't be doing it here.

"It's OK," she told them. "I trust you."

Gohan gave her the bean. It looked normal enough, but she knew looks could be deceiving. "Do I have to chew it, or swallow it?" she asked.

"I don't think it makes a difference," said Gohan. "Anyway, I have to get to my match now. It's starting soon. Will you be there?"

_I didn't miss it! I must not have been out for very long._ "Of course!"

Gohan smiled, and ran off.

She stared at the bean. _Well, here goes nothing._ She put it in her mouth and chewed it for a while before swallowing. _It doesn't taste like anything._

Suddenly, she felt strength returning to her. It was like she'd been given a huge dose of adrenaline. Except she didn't even feel her fractured bones anymore!

It was like they were healed. No. Moving her limbs, she realised they _were_ healed! There was no pain, no matter how much she moved it. It was incredible!

"I need to know what that stuff is," she said in amazement.

Then she remembered Gohan's match. _I don't want to miss it!_ She bounded out of the hospital bed, now full of energy, and rushed out the door.

The medic stopped her. "Wait, you need to rest!"

"I'm all better now," she told him. "That medicine worked!"

"Are you sure you should be going out like that?" asked the medic.

At first she thought they were talking about her injuries, but then she noticed her ruined clothes. She blushed. "Oh. Don't worry, I have a change of clothes."

She quickly went into the change room and changed into her new outfit – her 'Fight' dress. She found it while shopping a few weeks ago and had been really looking forward to wearing it. But, staring at it, it felt like something from a world away. Something strange was going on at this tournament, something serious. Hopefully she would find out what was going on. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that seeing Gohan fight would answer some of her questions.


	10. Things Get Serious

**[AN: Re: Reviews - It seems a lot of people don't want me to follow the events of the Buu Saga. I understand why. But the whole point of this fanfiction is to follow the events of the story from Videl's perspective. Making it an AU would ruin that. But don't worry. We're getting to the point where the story doesn't tell us exactly what Videl is doing. So we'll get a lot more original material from here on.]**

_The next match is The Great Saiyaman vs Kibito_, boomed the announcer. Videl hurried to the arena. She knew she wouldn't have time to get a seat, so she'd just stand and watch outside the competitor's area.

When she arrived, it looked like the match had officially started. Gohan had gotten into a fighting stance, but Kibito didn't react at all. It was like he didn't even care.

Videl suddenly realised, with a panic, that Gohan wasn't wearing his sunglasses or his bandanna. _His disguise is all gone! Does he not care about secrecy anymore?_

But cheers made her look to the crowd, where she recognised Erasa and Sharpener cheering in Gohan's direction. It looked like they knew who he was. _They probably figured it out on their own. That's why Gohan doesn't care about people recognising him. I knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. He's a terrible liar, and even worse at keeping a secret identity._

It would definitely be interesting when they got back to school, that was for sure.

Kibito started talking to Gohan, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She tried moving closer.

When she got there, she could just hear Gohan replying to him. "In front of everyone? No, way! Forget it!"

Kibito didn't look phased. "If you want to help us, you should do it. It's necessary for our plan."

Gohan stared blankly. "What is this plan, exactly?" he asked.

"Gohan!" yelled a voice. Videl turned her head towards the commotion. It was the green-skinned man. "It's OK," he said. "You can trust him!"

"Are you sure?" asked Gohan.

"Yes. I know who they are now. They're on our side."

Despite this, Gohan still looked nervous. Whatever Kibito wanted him to do, it was clear he wasn't comfortable with it.

"Get on with the fight!" yelled someone from the crowd.

More frustrated voices joined in and jeered. Honestly, Videl felt like joining them. She came here to watch a fight and all they were doing were talking! And not about anything interesting, either!

The jeering seemed to be the last straw. Gohan snapped. Suddenly, something in his expression changed – something she'd never seen in him before. Something like arrogance. "Fine!" he yelled to the crowd. He stared at Kibito, eyes narrowed.

"Last chance for requests!" he said. "Do you still want to see a Super Saiyan?"

He smirked. "Or should I take it to the _next level_?"

_What the hell is a Super Saiyan?_ Videl thought.

Gohan didn't wait for a response. He stood, and then started to yell. It looked like he was concentrating intently. Like he was trying to…power up, or something. That was when things started to get really strange.

A gust of wind rushed through the stadium. The tiles of the arena started vibrating. It felt like the ground was shaking. And Videl had the strangest feeling…Gohan was causing it.

And then, with a burst of light, Gohan's hair turned golden.

Videl could only stare, shocked. _He's the Gold Fighter,_ she realised. _He_ _has to be. It's too much of a coincidence._

_Of course he's the Gold Fighter,_ said a voice in her head. _Who else would it honestly be? The only reason you didn't think it was him was because he denied it._

But then another thought came into her mind. _If he's the Gold Fighter…now that I can see him, he must also be-_

Gohan stopped yelling. Whatever he had to show, it looked like he had done it. _What happened to him?_ His black hair had turned to gold, and was standing on end. And he was surrounded by a golden aura. That, and small sparks that looked like bolts of lightning. It was like his very presence was exciting the air around him.

It felt like time was slowing down for her. She finally understood. There was no way she could deny what was happening right in front of her.

Gohan wasn't just a strong fighter. He was something completely different. Everything she thought she knew was wrong. He had so much power…she could almost _feel_ it! Or maybe she could feel it? She had this strange…twitch, one that she'd never felt before. Whatever was happening, she knew his power was real. And it was on a whole new level to what she could ever imagine. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought. _He can't be this powerful. No one can be this powerful! _How had he managed to hide this?

Gohan, meanwhile, didn't look at all phased at the transformation that had occurred. He seemed like he was enjoying everyone's shocked looks, especially Kibito's. "So," he asked him. "Are you satisfied now?"

Kibito continued to stare with what looked like fear. Suddenly, his expression softened. "I apologise for this," he said. "It's necessary."

Videl felt the footsteps of people running behind her. When she looked back, it was Spopovich and Yamu. They were rushing to Gohan, and Yamu was holding something that looked like one of those old-fashioned oil lamps.

Seeing Spopovich, Videl suddenly panicked. But she relaxed a little when they ran right past her without giving her a second glance. Whatever they were doing, she wasn't important to them.

Gohan noticed them as they approached him. "What do _you _want?" he said angrily.

But then Gohan froze in his tracks. It was like his body was suddenly paralyzed, and, judging by his pained expression, it looked like it was happening against his will.

That seemed to be the cue Spopovich and Yamu needed. Without hesitation, Yamu shoved the pointy end of the lamp into Gohan's back.

Gohan's sudden screams of pain made Videl realise that whatever was happening was definitely not a good thing. As they kept the lamp in him, he looked like his energy was being drained away. His hair and eyes (_his eyes had changed, too,_ she realised) turned back to their normal colours, and he fell to the floor, exhausted.

Videl had no idea what was happening. "Gohan!" she screamed, and desperately ran over to him. She had to help him, somehow!

Spopovich and Yamu yanked the lamp out of him. It looked like they got what they needed. And when everyone started recovering from the shock of what just happened, they simply…flew off, far away from the arena.

_Can everyone fly, now?_

A few seconds later, someone else from the competitor's area flew out as well. They seemed to be following them.

Her attention went back to Gohan. She stared at his fallen body. It looked like he was still conscious, which was good, at least. But she didn't know what had happened to him.

Someone approached her. She thought it would be the medic, but it was Kibito.

"You get away from him!" she yelled. "Why didn't you stop them? You were right there!"

"This was a part of the plan," Kibito replied.

"What did they _do_ to him?"

"They merely stole his energy. But I can restore it."

"You can?" she asked, elated. Kibito, not waiting for her permission, put his hands over Gohan. A strange light seemed to be emitting from them.

After a few seconds, Gohan opened his eyes. "What?" he said. "What happened?"

"Follow me," said Kibito. "I'll explain everything." And he rose in the air.

_He can fly, too. Apparently, it's not even difficult anymore._ Gohan looked like he was going to follow him.

"Wait!" she stopped them. "I'm coming, too."

Gohan frowned. "It might be dangerous."

"I'm coming anyway," she said stubbornly. "I want to know _the truth_. I deserve that much."

Gohan sighed, not bothering to argue. "Alright. But be sure to get out if it gets rough, OK?"

"OK." Despite everything that had happened, Videl felt a little excited. Finally, _finally_, someone was going to explain something. She had enough of mysteries. And there was a thought going in her mind that she needed to verify.

Videl and Gohan followed Kibito into the air. _Everyone's going to see me flying now_, she realised. If they didn't believe it during her match, they'd believe it now. But, in a way, it made sense. Gohan had revealed his secret to everyone. It was only fair that she revealed hers.

She wasn't exactly sure where they were going, but it looked like they were going in the same direction as Spopovich and Yamu. How they remembered exactly what direction they had fled, she wasn't sure. She was just following their lead.

"So," started Gohan. "Are you going to explain what happened there? Who are you? And what do you want?"

"I am Kibito, servant to the Supreme Kai," Kibito explained. "We arrived at this planet to prevent the resurrection of Majin Buu."

"Who's that?" Videl asked. She knew she was butting in, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to know what was going on.

Kibito thought for a moment. "I suppose I'll start at the beginning." And he started his tale.

Videl was suddenly aware that she was lagging behind the others. _This is my fault. I've never practiced flying this fast before. They're probably used to going faster._ She tried to speed up.

"3000 years ago, there lived an evil sorcerer named Bibidi. Using his magic, he created his ultimate being, Majin Buu. Majin Buu was a creature of pure destruction and enormous power. It could obliterate civilisations in a blink of an eye. It had no conscious, no emotions. Its sole purpose was to destroy."

"Bibidi used Majin Buu's power to destroy hundreds of planets. But Buu's power was so great that even Bibidi had trouble controlling it. He used his magic to seal Majin Buu in a cocoon, in which only Bibidi could release him."

"My master, the Supreme Kai, was not able to destroy Buu. Its fearsome power was too great. However, he was able to stop it in another way. One time, when Bibidi had sealed Buu in its cocoon on a planet in preparation for awakening it again, my master was able to kill Bibidi."

"Oh," said Gohan, understanding. "With him gone, no one would be able to wake Buu up from the cocoon!"

"Correct," said Kibito.

_I've had enough of fairytales,_ thought Videl, getting annoyed. "What does this have to do with us?" she asked.

Kibito looked irritated by her interruptions. "The place where Buu's cocoon lay, the planet that Bibidi was intending to destroy next – it was this planet. Earth."

Videl found that hard to believe.

Gohan saw the issues as well. "But you said Bibidi is dead. How would Majin Buu be able to be revived?"

"It turns out Bibidi had a son," answered Kibito. "His name is Babidi, and he is intending to find Buu and use it to continue his father's work."

Videl realised she was lagging behind again. _Got to keep the pace._ She was getting a little tired. _How much farther is it, anyway? We've gone a long way._

She snapped back to their conversation.

"Does Babidi know the spell to release Buu?" asked Gohan.

"We do not think so," said Kibito. "But there is another way to free it. However, it requires a massive amount of energy."

"Is that why those guys stole my energy?" asked Gohan. "Does that mean they were working for Babidi?"

"I believe so," said Kibito. "They became Babidi's Majin warriors. Babidi controlled them using the evil in their hearts, and in return, allowed them power beyond their limits."

_Was _that _how Spopovich was so strong? Because he was controlled by an….alien wizard?_ This was starting to sound so bizarre. But it did explain how he could survive his neck getting broken. He wasn't entirely human anymore.

"So we're following those guys…" started Gohan.

"So they can lead us to Babidi, yes," finished Kibito. "If we can kill Babidi, or destroy his device, we may be able to stop Buu being revived."

"Is Buu really that dangerous?" Videl piped in.

Kibito stared at her. "Of course, you silly girl," he growled. "Didn't I just tell you that the Supreme Kai himself could not stop it!"

"Who even IS this Supreme Kai?" she asked. He kept repeating that name, expecting her to know what it meant. It was frustrating.

"The nerve!" exclaimed Kibito. "The Supreme Kai is the highest of all the Kais – the most important and powerful deity in the universe!"

_The fighter Shin? That guy with the Mohawk? _While she thought he had looked weird, 'deity' was the last thing she expected him to be.

Another wave of fatigue washed through her. She had to slow down for a second. Gohan and Kibito zoomed on ahead of her. Looking around, she couldn't see their destination, if there was one. _If I'm this tired already, I don't know if I can follow them all the way._ She probably could if she slowed down, but she didn't know where she was going. She _had _to keep up with them to follow them. And she couldn't. Not for long.

"We need to speed up," said Kibito.

_Speed up?_ _I can barely keep up as it is! _

The distance between them kept growing, until Gohan seemed to realise she was lagging behind. He stopped for a second to give her time to catch up. Through all the talk of sorcerers and magic and gods, her problems seemed like a world away. It was as if only now did he realise how difficult this was for her.

"Hey," he asked, concerned. "Are you OK?"

"You're going a bit fast for me," she admitted. _Both literally and metaphorically._ "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Oh, you're just not used to the wind yet!" Gohan assured her. "You'll get used to it, I'm sure of it."

Videl was slowly realising she was a bit over her head. Creatures destroying galaxies? Supreme beings? Sorcerers from 3000 years ago? It seemed a lot more serious than a simple martial arts tournament. How could she help?

"I don't think so," she said honestly. "I'm just holding you back, aren't I?"

Gohan looked at her, sadly. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's not really your fault. But you're right."

Now that she knew how powerful he was, she knew she was outclassed. It was frustrating, but she had to accept it. She still remembered the beating Spopovich gave her, and she didn't want something like that to happen again.

"Maybe I'll go back…" she said. "You can handle yourself, right?"

"I'll be fine," he said firmly. "If you're going back, can you tell my mum and brother what's going on? Tell them my father's with me. I can sense him ahead of us."

"Sure." _His family's probably worried._

Gohan looked like he was about to fly off. But Videl realised she hadn't gotten all her answers. "Wait a second!" she said abruptly. "I still need to know the truth."

Gohan stared in confusion.

Videl started her questions. She needed to get this off her chest. "The Gold Fighter – that was really you, wasn't it?"

Gohan sighed. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she exclaimed.

He didn't want to look at her. "I didn't want you to know. It wasn't just me I was looking after."

_It's not just about him? That confirms it! _"So…those people who showed up 7 years ago during the fight with Cell, that was your friends, wasn't it? And you – you were the little boy that was with them!"

He looked around, as if he was checking if anyone was watching, and finally nodded. "Yes. That was me."

It had made so much sense. When Videl had seen Gohan's group, she thought they looked familiar. If they were the other challengers at the Cell Games, it explained why she recognised them.

But, at the same time, she remembered Goten and Trunks firing energy blasts. She remembered how they could all fly. And, most of all, she remembered Gohan as the Gold Fighter. How could they NOT use that power against Cell?

_But they DID use that power against Cell,_ she realised. While it aired years ago, she still remembered the….light show that was happening before her father prepared to fight for the second time.

She tried to think back to the day of the Cell Games, when one of the other challenges fought Cell, who was obviously one of Gohan's friends. She did remember the energy blasts and the flying, but she assumed it was a trick. Or a pre-show. Everyone else was sceptical about it, so why would she believe it?

But now that she had proof it was _real_…she didn't know what to think. There was one thought in her mind, and she didn't want to believe it. But, at the same time, she couldn't keep denying it.

"So…that means…my father wasn't the one who beat Cell. Was it one of you guys?"

Gohan had a brief smile. "You could say that."

_It was him,_ Videl understood. Gohan's expression gave it away. He looked almost proud. He wouldn't react like that unless he had a part in it. And, now that she thought about it, the 'delivery boy' was one of the last people to fight Cell before the camera broke. If anyone could have done it, it would have been him. She wasn't sure exactly how he did it, considering he would have been about…9 years old at the time. But, now knowing what he was capable of, it wasn't too far-fetched.

"Well, go on!" said Videl. "Go, and be a hero again!"

Gohan smiled and went to rejoin Kibito. He waved goodbye.

And, without her holding them back, they started flying at full speed. They were so _fast!_ She could barely see them after a few seconds!

"You'd better come back," she said out loud, staring at the spot where they left. "I'm not finished with you yet, Gohan."

She started flying back to the tournament. She had to tell Gohan's family where he was. That was a job to do, at least.

And she needed to accept her father was a liar.


	11. A Brief Return to Normalcy

As she flew, Videl became more and more angry. _My father never beat Cell._ No matter which way you thought about it, the truth was he was a liar. He lied to her! Even if he _hadn't_ seen Gohan beat Cell, he knew he wasn't the one who beat him. And he took the credit for it, anyway!

He was _very_ lucky the one who actually beat Cell was Gohan. Anyone else would have tried to sue him, or at least reveal the truth. But Gohan was the type of guy who wouldn't want to draw attention to himself. At least, that's what she thought.

Now that she thought about it, she realised she wasn't the first one who had doubts about her father. It was when first they started school after the Cell Games were over. Most people was pestering her and thanking her for what her father did, but not everyone was like that. For every group of people talking about her father, there was also someone talking about the boy – about Gohan. Everyone saw him stand up to Cell. Sure, he hadn't been doing very well, but the fact that he, as a child probably their age, was facing him…all the boys wanted to know who he was. All the boys wanted to be like him. And there were a small group who believed the boy was the one who finished Cell off. She kept telling them they were liars, and they weren't too loud about it, but she still remembered them. And now it turned out they were right. Was it really so obvious that a bunch of kids could figure out the truth?

Snapping out of her tangent, Videl was making good progress when she saw two other figures in the air. _More people flying? Who could it be?_

As she got closer, she realised it was Goten and Trunks.

"Hi, boys!" she said. "Are you going after the wizard, too?"

"Wizard?" asked Trunks.

Videl sighed, and tried to explain as simply as possible. Telling Goten was one of her jobs, after all.

* * *

><p>"And so Gohan's gone after them, and I think your dad is there, too," she finished. "At least, that's what Gohan said. I didn't see your dad."<p>

"Goten, let's go!" said Trunks excitedly. "I want to see this wizard!"

_Wait a second._ Videl interrupted. "I don't think that's a good idea. It might be-"

They ignored her. Simultaneously, that light erupted, that thing that changed their hair. Now that she could see it close up, their transformation was very similar to what Gohan did. _Can everyone just change their hair colour at will now?_

And they flew off. And _of course_, they were going ridiculously fast, too fast for her to follow. She wasn't even surprised anymore.

Videl sighed. _Boys,_ she thought. _They just run right into danger without thinking of the consequences._ Hopefully Gohan would deal with them.

It took her another 10 minutes to get to the arena. She was relieved when she saw the familiar stadium. For a while, she thought she had been going in the wrong direction. She landed just outside the stadium. While a lot of weird stuff had been happening, she didn't want _everyone _to see her landing from the air.

As she walked in, it looked like the fighting had ended. That was strange. It wasn't due to end for another hour or so, maybe longer. Although the events of the last fight might have put a wrench into things.

She wandered around, not sure of what to do. _My father didn't defeat Cell. Gohan did._ The words kept going through her brain. **_Gohan_**_ did!_

She knew she probably should be worried more about this Majin Buu business, but what she had worked out was more personal to her. It affected her directly.

If this was true, and she was fairly sure it was, she would have a lot to say about her father. And, once she got back home, she was going to find the recording of the Cell Games broadcast. She hadn't seen it in such a long time, but she might be able to work out who everyone was now that she'd met them. Of course, her father wouldn't want her to see it, because it held the proof. But did she really care what her father thought anymore?

"Videl!"

A voice cut through her thoughts, sharp and clear. And familiar.

It was Erasa. And Sharpener. They moved forward, waving at her.

Videl broke into a grin. Erasa and Sharpener! It was so great to see them again! She hadn't seen them since…since…the last time she went to school! That was about a month ago. She hadn't realised how much she missed them.

After all this craziness, it was such a relief to have some normalcy in her life.

She waved at them. "Hey, guys," she said. "I didn't realise you were going to come!" Erasa was never really interested in martial arts stuff. Videl expected she was going to skip it.

"Of course we're coming!" exclaimed Erasa. "We're your friends! We're not going to miss seeing you fight."

Videl smiled. "Is it over already?" she asked, trying to start a normal conversation. "That didn't take long."

"A lot of the contestants had left halfway through," said Sharpener. "Probably scared of your dad. He was amazing out there."

That shocked her. "…he was?" For a second, Videl was expecting him to be beaten, or something. After all, if Gohan's group was fighting…

"Yeah!" said Erasa. "He's just over there, celebrating his victory. Do you want to talk to him?"

"**…NO!**" she yelled. She couldn't talk to her father. Not now. Not after what she knew.

Erasa and Sharpener looked at her strangely. "Did you guys have a fight or something?" Erasa asked.

Videl sighed. "You could say that."

As they walked around, Erasa piped up "By the way, I noticed your new haircut."

"Oh…right…" Videl had forgotten it had been a month since she last went to school. No one knew she had cut her hair yet.

"I think it looks good on you," remarked Erasa.

Videl was still wondering what to do once it grew out. "Do you think I look better with short hair, or long hair?" she asked Erasa. She wasn't the sort of person to lie to her.

"I don't know," she answered. "I'm so used to you with long hair. But short hair fits you better, I think."

Sharpener rolled his eyes. "Girls," he said. "Only you two would talk about hairstyles during the tournament."

"Hey," rebutted Videl. "If I wanted to talk about the tournament all day, I wouldn't have gone to you guys."

Erasa and Sharpener were great friends just to talk to. She didn't mind if they didn't like all the same things as her. At least, no matter what was going on in their lives, they could sit and talk and pretend nothing bad was happening, as long as they were together.

Sharpener led them to the food buffet. "Check it out!" he said. "They sure do know how to keep people happy."

"Aren't you hungry?" asked Erasa.

"Actually, I'm not." Videl realised.

_Wait_, why wasn't she hungry? She hadn't had anything to eat since this morning!

Well, except for that bean Gohan gave her. _That must be it._

"Don't worry about it." She waved them off. Her not being hungry was the least of her problems.

While they started eating, Videl was still thinking about her dad.

If he _was_ lying about not beating Cell, why didn't he tell her the truth? She was his daughter! Parents shouldn't lie to their children!

_Actually,_ a voice in Videl's head said, _parents lie to their kids all the time. If they think something's inappropriate for their children, they won't tell them. Like telling them where babies come from._ _Your dad probably didn't want you to be ashamed over what he did._

But, by not telling her the truth, it made her even _more _ashamed.

She felt like she should have known. All the clues were there. He never let her train with him. He never gave any indication that he could do stuff that the people at the Cell Games could. He couldn't fly. That should have been a dead giveaway. If _she_ could fly, why couldn't he?

As she was lost in her thoughts, someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Erasa. "Hey, are you OK?" she asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Videl lied. Erasa was her friend, but she couldn't tell her what was going on. She'd never believe her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You don't exactly look 'fine'."

Videl paused. "Let's just say…stuff's been happening."

"And it has to do with your dad, doesn't it?"

"Something like that,"

Erasa looked at her. "Well, if you want to talk about it, you can. I'm your friend, after all."

That would probably help. But, at the same time, it was Erasa. She wouldn't understand.

"I-I'll tell you soon," Videl decided. "Just not right now. Only once I understand what's going on."

Erasa nodded. "Of course."

_She really is a great friend,_ Videl thought.

She rejoined their conversation. Sharpener told her about what she'd missed at school. "I think Gohan was missing school, as well, so you're not the only one who's behind," he explained.

Erasa suddenly became attentive. "Videl? Did you see him? At the tournament? Gohan is-"

"The Great Saiyaman, I know," said Videl quickly. "And the Gold Fighter."

_Like I want to be reminded of that._

Unfortunately, their conversation quickly turned to him.

"How did he _do_ that stuff?" asked Sharpener. "He's just a pipsqueak."

"What is it they say? 'Looks can be deceiving'?" said Erasa. "Maybe he only acted like a dork so we wouldn't suspect it was him."

"Oh, no," interrupted Videl. "He's definitely still a dork." She was sure of it.

Sharpener frowned. "How do you know about him?"

"He's been giving me flying lessons," said Videl. There was no point keeping it a secret anymore. They had all seen her.

"Flying lessons? Wow!" exclaimed Erasa. "I didn't know that was possible!"

"Neither did I, really," said Videl. "But I saw Gohan do it, and I asked him if he could teach me."

"Could I learn?" asked Sharpener eagerly.

Videl thought for a moment. "Probably not," she said. "It's more like a martial arts move than superpowers. It took me a while to get the hang of it, and you know how good I am."

Sharpener seemed disappointed.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed. "If it was really that easy, everyone would know already!"

"So, what's going on with you and Gohan?" asked Erasa. "Are you dating, or something?"

"What? No!" shouted Videl. "We were training together, not eloping! Why does everyone try to pair us up?"

Erasa didn't seem convinced. "He's a nice guy, though. I mean, if you like him, you should at least give him a chance."

"What, ask him out?" she asked, suddenly nervous. "I've never done that before. Usually, they just ask me."

Erasa laughed. "It's not that hard. I've asked plenty of boys out before."

Sharpener suddenly seemed very intent on his food. Videl was surprised how well he was taking this conversation. He did used to have a crush on her, after all. And they were just talking about her going out with another guy right in front of him.

It was getting a little awkward. Getting distracted, she looked around at the crowd.

And then her eyes caught a woman with a large black hair bun. Chi-Chi!

Suddenly, she remembered her promise to Gohan. _"Can you tell my mum and brother what's going on?"_ Chi-Chi must be worried sick about him. He just disappeared during the match, with no indication of where he was going and what he was doing.

Videl stood up. "I need to go," she said quickly. "I promised Gohan I'd tell his mum…" She was blabbering on, and she knew it. She didn't have time to explain everything to her friends. _I need to get out of here._

"I'll be back!" she said.

Before they could react, she stood up and ran, following Chi-Chi.

"Chi-Chi!" she called out desperately.

Chi-Chi turned around and saw her. And she recognised her.

"Videl!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing? Do you know where my boys are?"

"Actually, I do." As they walked over to Chi-Chi's seat to pick up her stuff, Videl tried to summarise everything that had happened.

* * *

><p>"Normally, I wouldn't have let them go," said Chi-Chi, once Videl had finished her explanation. "But times have changed. And as long as Goku is with them, I'm sure they'll be alright."<p>

"It's a pity Goku had to come back when all this stuff happened," remarked Videl.

"That was why he stayed dead in the first place," said Chi-Chi. "He thought that he was the one attracting all this danger."

_Wait a second, did she just say 'stayed dead'? _thought Videl._ How is being dead an option?_

Something suddenly interrupted her thoughts. There was a commotion at the arena. She looked down. There were a few people standing at the arena that certainly weren't there before.

There…the hair…it had to be Goku. There was also that Shin fellow, who Videl remembered was the Supreme Kai, whatever that meant. And, there, in the corner, looking a little beat up but generally unhurt…was that Gohan?

Standing further away from them was a golden-haired man. But his hairstyle looked just like Vegeta. It couldn't be him…unless he could change his hair colour like Gohan could. And Goten. And Trunks. _OK, it probably is Vegeta,_ she realised.

She couldn't hear what was going on, but it seemed like Goku and Vegeta were arguing. Gohan looked like he was trying to stop them, but unsuccessfully.

Something looked wrong with Vegeta. Like he had a migraine or something. He held out his hand. _Strange,_ thought Videl, _the way he looks, it makes him look like Goten when he was shooting energy blasts. _

And then Vegeta shot one of those blasts - a massive one, the largest she'd seen…right into the stadium.

For a split second, Videl thought it would be OK. That maybe he wasn't intending to hit anyone. Maybe it was just an accident. But then the blast hit the arena. And where it hit, it exploded. A huge chunk of the stadium, housing dozens, maybe even hundreds of people, burst into flames.


	12. Search for the Dragon Balls

**[AN: Now we're really getting into the Buu Saga. I know there could have put more 'wacky hijinks' in this chapter, but I feel like I would be terrible at it. Not to mention, a lot of people just died. The tonal shift would be a little weird. If you have thoughts, make sure to review! That way I know people are reading it. Or PM me, if you like.]**

Videl could only state, shocked, at the crater where a quarter of the stadium used to be. Time seemed to be moving really slowly, just like when Gohan turned into the Gold Fighter. When was that, about an hour ago? It didn't feel like it.

Everything became clear then. In this tournament, it seemed like everyone had been…holding back. Gohan had never showed her what he was capable of, and now she understood why. Because he had the power to kill everyone. And she was seeing that kind of power used against them for the first time.

Everyone started running from the stadium. She was still frozen in shock. She couldn't feel anything. All she could do was watch with a strange detachment, both physically and emotionally. _They could have done this the whole time,_ was all she could think._ They always had the ability. What was stopping them?_

Suddenly, she felt someone tugging her arm, bringing her back to reality. It was Chi-Chi. "Come on, Videl!" she yelled. "We're getting out, it's not safe here!"

She was so confused. But it was Gohan's mother, surely she knew what was happening. Surely she knew _why_ it was happening. "But my dad, my friends…"

"Your dad would never abandon this tournament," said Chi-Chi. "We don't have any time!"

Videl looked at her surroundings. The screaming people, the spectators, the chaos. She could see her father, trying to make sense of it all, desperately trying to keep calm but failing miserably. Her friends…she didn't know where they were. The only thing she knew was that things were getting serious. Had Gohan failed, and that Majin Buu was free? Nothing seemed to be safe.

"OK," she decided. "I'll come with you."

She hurried to the exit with Chi-Chi. A small group was waiting for them. Among them was a blue-haired woman. There was a man with noticeable facial scars, a flying cat and a pig, and two older men. There was also a blonde-haired woman who Videl recognised from the qualifying round. Wasn't her name a number? She was carrying a young toddler, who, judging by the similar hair, had to be her daughter.

The blue-haired woman was looking around nervously. She seemed to be the leader. But, at the same time, she looked a bit hysterical. "Is that everyone?" she asked quickly.

"The others have left already," said the blonde-haired woman.

"Yeah," added the scarred man. "Even Goku and Vegeta have gone. I can't sense any of them at the arena."

"Then, let's go," said the blue-haired woman. She quickly uncapsuled a large helicopter. It looked like a pretty new model. It even had the Capsule Corp logo on it. Videl wondered how they got such an expensive one.

As the blue-haired woman started climbing into the drivers seat, the scarred man stopped her. "I'll fly it," he stated.

"But…" she looked like she wanted to object.

"I'll fly it," he repeated, firmly. "You don't look so good."

She _did_ seem a bit tense. But she didn't seem to take that as an insult. She silently boarded the helicopter, and motioned for everyone to come on board.

As soon as they were in the air, the blue-haired woman burst into tears.

"Why?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion. "Why did Vegeta do that?"

"Bulma…" said Chi-Chi. She put her hand over her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"I thought he'd changed!" cried Bulma. "He said he wasn't like that anymore! He promised me! For me and our son-"

She looked around, only just noticing something. "Where's Trunks?" she asked, suddenly panicking. "My god, if Vegeta hurt him…"

Videl felt awkward. _She's Vegeta's wife,_ she realised. She didn't know how to console a woman whose husband had killed hundreds of people. But, at the same time… "I know where Trunks is," she piped up.

Bulma seemed to register her presence for the first time. "Who are YOU?" she asked, her tone hostile.

Chi-Chi stepped in for her. "This is Videl, Mr. Satan's daughter."

Bulma stared. "That's what I thought," she snapped. "The question is, what are you doing here?"

Videl honestly didn't know how to answer. Luckily, Chi-Chi decided to talk for her.

"I felt sorry for her," she said. "She was just sitting there looking so lost and lonely…I had to bring her here. We can take her home when it's over."

"Besides," Videl added. "I know a bit about what's going on. I'm friends with Gohan."

"His girlfriend?" asked the scarred man, jokingly.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Videl exclaimed. _But…I might ask him out when I see him again._

Erasa was right. She did like him. At the very least, she liked him enough to start going out with him. Sure, her father wouldn't be happy, but it wasn't like she cared about that anymore.

Bulma interrupted. "So, where is my son?"

Videl sighed, and started to explain the story. _Why do I have to keep doing this? _she complained in her head. _What is it, the third time?_

* * *

><p>"And when I left, I saw Goten and Trunks," Videl explained. "I told them what was going on, and they decided to run off and follow them."<p>

"Why would you tell them that?" snapped Bulma.

"I didn't know they would go after them!" Videl argued. "I thought they would know it was too dangerous!"

"They're young boys." said Bulma. "If you tell them not to do something, they won't listen to you."

Chi-Chi tried to mediate. "At least we know they're not at the arena. Vegeta didn't hurt them."

The scarred man interrupted. "No offence, guys, but where are we going? What are we going to do?"

Bulma stood up. "I'll tell you what we're going to do," she said, sudden determination on her face. "We're going to bring back the people Vegeta killed."

She reached into her bag, and pulled out what looked like an overgrown pocket watch. Instead of having the time, however, it had a mostly blank screen with a large grid. Several lights were steadily blinking on and off at different areas of the grid, like they were co-ordinates.

"The Dragon Radar?" asked the scarred man incredulously. "You brought _that _with you?"

"Call it a hunch," said Bulma. "I was worried that Trunks or Vegeta were going to blow our cover during the tournament. We were on thin ice as it was, letting everyone participate."

"Well, our cover is most definitely blown," he replied.

Videl was still unsure of what they were talking about. "What is that?" she asked Bulma, motioning to the radar.

"It's a Dragon Radar," said Bulma with pride. "I invented it when I was 16. It's used to detect Dragon Balls."

"What's a Dragon Ball?" Videl asked.

The others all looked at each other, both shocked and slightly amused. "I forgot you didn't know about this," said Chi-Chi.

"Hey," said Videl. "I just found out my friend saved the world when he was 9. Whatever this is, I think I can handle it."

"He told you that?" asked the scarred man in disbelief.

"He didn't say it was _him_, per se," she replied. "But his expression gave it away."

Bulma sighed. "I guess we'll explain. You'll need to know if you're helping us."

The blonde-haired woman interrupted. "Shouldn't we at least tell the girl who we are? If she's staying with us, she might as well get our names."

"Good idea!" said Bulma, her mood suddenly improved.

So Bulma went around, listing everyone's names.

"I'm Bulma," she said. "The one driving is Yamcha."

Yamcha waved a hand in recognition.

"And over here we have #18 and her daughter Marron, Oolong, Puar, Muten Roshi, (Goku calls him Master Roshi), the Ox-King, Chi-Chi's father, Chi-Chi, and you.

"There will be a test at the end," joked Yamcha.

Everyone laughed.

"I'm probably not going to remember any of your names," Videl said honestly.

"That's fine," said Bulma. "Anyway, you wanted to know about the Dragon Balls?"

Videl nodded.

"Well, the Dragon Balls are magical balls, spread around the whole world. If someone can collect all 7, they can summon the Eternal Dragon, Shenlong, who will grant them one wish."

"Actually, two wishes," interrupted Yamcha. "Dende upgraded them, remember?"

"Granting wishes…are you for real?" asked Videl.

"Of course!" said Bulma. "If it weren't for the Dragon Balls, things would be a lot different."

"So, we're collecting them now? What are we going to wish for?"

Bulma turned away from them. "We're going to use them…to bring the people Vegeta killed back to life."

_Bring them back to life? That's impossible! _Then again, if the dragon could grant _any_ wish…bringing people back to life was about as impossible as a wish-granting dragon. And apparently, that existed.

But something felt wrong.

"Shouldn't we be looking for Trunks and Goten right now?" asked Videl. "They could be in danger!"

"Trunks and Goten could be anywhere," said Bulma. At least with the Dragon Balls we know we're accomplishing something."

"And I'm sure the kids are fine," said Yamcha. "After all, Goku's back."

* * *

><p>And that was how Videl found herself with a group of men, women and animals as they flew, following the radar. Occasionally, Bulma corrected their flight path. Now that they were doing something, she seemed a lot friendlier, and wasn't brooding on Vegeta's actions. Although, Videl realised she was probably using this as an excuse to take her mind off everything. Frankly, she was doing that herself. While they were collecting the Dragon Balls, she didn't have to think about her father, or Gohan, or anyone else. She could just concentrate on the task at hand.<p>

She knew she didn't have to be there. They didn't exactly need her help. She could just leave and go home. But she knew, if she went home, she would have to face her father. She'd have to confront him. And she wasn't ready to do that. Not yet. Besides, after everything she'd heard, she wanted to see this Eternal Dragon up-close.

For mystical items, the Dragon Balls sure were in strange locations. Videl would have thought they would be taken by people, but most of them were lying out in open fields. It definitely made her appreciate how many deserted wastelands there were in their world.

"It's amazing how much easier this became over time," remarked Bulma.

Everything was surprisingly organised and straightforward. They would fly to the location of the Dragon Ball, someone would get out of the helicopter and look for it, and then they'd search for the next one. It was like they had previous experience.

It helped that they knew where some of the Dragon Balls were already. Bulma owned one of the balls at her place, but they were saving that for last so they could summon the dragon there. The Four-Star Ball was even at Gohan's house. Apparently, it was some kind of family heirloom.

"It's also insurance," explained Yamcha. "If we keep one of the Dragon Balls with us, then no one can misuse the power of Shenlong. The balls are useless unless you can collect all of them."

"But what if someone wants to use it for good?" Videl asked.

Yamcha paused, in thought. "Then they can just tell us," he answered. "If they have a radar like we do, they'd find either Goku or Bulma's place in their search. They can explain why they're gathering the balls then."

* * *

><p>When Bulma decided to hop out to look for one of the Dragon Balls on her own, the others started discussing Vegeta. It seemed like they had been waiting for an opportunity.<p>

"What was wrong with him?" asked Chi-Chi. "What made him do that?"

"He wasn't exactly the nicest guy in the world," said the pig – _oh, crap. I've already forgotten his name! _"I don't think murder is new to him."

"Even then," said Master Roshi. "Something had to have triggered it. What was so different about today?"

"It was the tournament?" suggested 18.

Yamcha froze. "Goku," he realised. "Goku was alive again. That was what was different. Ever since his death, Vegeta had given up any hope of being able surpass him. When he was brought back…Vegeta's the kind of guy who would do anything…_anything_…to be able to fight him again."

"I know that!" said a voice.

They all faced the voice. It was Bulma, hands on her hips.

"I know exactly why Vegeta did it," she said. Surprisingly, she didn't look sad, or even that angry. She just looked determined. "But it doesn't excuse what he's done. That's why we need to hurry up and gather the Dragon Balls as soon as possible. It's the only job we can do."

And before long, they had gathered them all.


	13. Lives, Deaths and Truths

**[AN: Re: Reviews - a few people were telling me that Videl should have recognised Bulma in the last chapter. You're right, honestly. But let's just say that Videl doesn't care that much. After everything that happened, being on a plane with the equivalent of Bill Gates is probably the _least_ weird thing that had happened.**

**Anyway, we've officially started the 'chilling on the Lookout while the plot happens somewhere else' part of the story. It's where we can start making a lot of stuff up. Right now, Videl is just being a casual observer. Also, Shenlong grants 3 wishes now, according to the manga. I don't know if that's an actual plot hole, but I'm still keeping it.]**

"So, how does the dragon know to come out? Does he live inside the balls or something?" Videl asked.

Bulma thought for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure," she said. "Either way, he always knows when they're collected."

They were outside Bulma's house, now having finally collected all the Dragon Balls. Bulma had been busy talking to her parents, telling them to leave for somewhere safer, in case things got rough. Judging by Bulma's frustrated expression, it was clear they didn't agree with her.

One by one, they placed the seven balls into a circle – six balls in a hexagonal shape and one in the centre. "Eternal dragon!" yelled Bulma,"By your name, I summon you forth! Shenlong!"

"What happens now-"

Suddenly, the sky turned dark. The Dragon Balls started glowing intensely, creating sparks that became as large as lightning bolts. A large shape started rising up from the balls towards the sky. The light started to become too intense. Videl had to close her eyes.

When the light had subsided, she opened her eyes. The Eternal Dragon wasn't exactly what she'd expected. For one, it was _huge_. Its long, snake-like body covered the sky and curled around the adjacent buildings. It was so immense it was hard to tell where it began and where it ended. It also didn't look exactly like a dragon. At the very least, Videl had never seen a dragon with antlers before.

"I am the Eternal Dragon," it boomed, with a deep voice as loud as thunder. "I can grant you any three wishes. Speak your first wish, one who has summoned me."

Bulma quickly stepped forward. She didn't look at all scared of the giant dragon hovering in front of them. Videl thought that was strange, until she realised that it probably wasn't the first time they had used the Dragon Balls. She wondered what they wished for last time.

Bulma started stammering, finding it difficult to get the words out. But it wasn't because of Shenlong that she was so scared. She just didn't want to admit what she had to say.

"…Vegeta…has killed a lot of people. I don't know why. But I feel responsible for it. Please, Shenlong, revive all the people who were killed today!"

"Except for the evil ones!" added Yamcha quickly.

The dragon's eyes glowed red briefly, before saying "Your first wish has been granted. Now, what is your second wish?"

A voice suddenly echoed behind her.

"Did he say second wish? Oh, no! I'm too late!"

Everyone turned around. A man was standing behind them, although Videl was sure he wasn't there a second ago. He looked familiar, but she couldn't immediately remember who he was…until she saw the halo above his head. That meant he was dead, she remembered. Which means it was Son Goku, Gohan's father.

"Goku!"

His appearance changed everything. Everyone else rushed towards him eagerly. Videl stayed where she was. It felt like she was part of a family reunion…but it wasn't her family.

"Did you guys make your wish yet?" asked Goku.

"We made the first wish," explained Bulma. "We're trying to work out what our second wish will be."

Goku's face fell. "I came too late! You'd better not use the last wish yet, we might need the Dragon Balls soon."

He calmly walked up to the giant dragon like it was an old friend. "If we only use one wish, what will happen to the Dragon Balls?"

"They will be inactive for 4 months," replied the dragon.

"OK, great! So we'll only use one wish."

"Fine," said the dragon. "Reunite the Dragon Balls if you want the other wishes."

With that, the dragon faded away. The Dragon Balls all rose up in the air, and, like speeding bullets, scattered in different directions. The sky turned back into its original colour, and it was all over.

"Why did you do that?" asked Bulma in frustration. "What do you mean 'we might need the Dragon Balls soon'?"

Goku frowned. "Things aren't looking too good right now, and we need the Dragon Balls to wish any damage away once it's over."

Everyone looked around nervously. It seemed like Goku wasn't normally the bearer of bad news. That, or if he ever _was_ the bearer of bad news, things must have gotten pretty bad.

"I'll take you all to the lookout," said Goku. "Everyone, grab onto me!"

The others all then held onto Goku. Two people grabbed his shoulders, and the others held onto their hands in a chain. It looked like they were going to pray or something.

"Um…" Videl didn't want to say anything, worried she might offend someone, but she had no idea what they were trying to do. They looked absolutely ridiculous.

Chi-Chi suddenly remembered she was there. "Oh, Videl! Grab my hand, here!"

She awkwardly held onto her hand. "Why exactly are we-"

"OK, good to go!" said Goku.

He placed two fingers onto his forehead, and Videl suddenly felt completely weightless.

Before she could even register what was going on, their surroundings suddenly changed. They landed on the ground, and she could feel her body again.

"…what….was that?" she asked. It happened so fast. Where _was_ she? What happened to her? She clearly wasn't at the city anymore. She wasn't anywhere she recognised. It seemed to be…some sort of tower? It was a large circular platform with no walls, completely covered in white square tiles. There were a few trees and plants, and a small domed building in the centre. She couldn't see anything else in her surroundings, only clouds. Curious, she looked down from the edge, and immediately wished she hadn't. They were above the clouds. She couldn't see _anything_ from the edge. She wasn't normally scared of heights, but even she got a little apprehensive about how high up they were.

"Okay…" she said out loud. "That's the last time I look down."

_It's like I'm in some fantasy land where whenever I think it can't get weirder, it always does._

Whatever this place was, it looked like the Dragon Ball group's headquarters. Goku was there, along with that man with green skin and a very short man with long hair. She recognised them from the tournament, although she'd forgotten their names. But not everyone was there. The boys were still missing, and so was Vegeta. And she couldn't see Gohan anywhere.

Where was Gohan? Still fighting that wizard guy? No, that didn't seem right, the others were here, including his father, and she doubted they'd leave him alone. She walked around the lookout, expecting him to be hiding somewhere. He had better be here. He was the only one she really knew – everyone else was still mostly a stranger to her. Besides the people who went Dragon Ball hunting, there were those people from the tournament, and she noticed a few other others wandering around who she had never met before. Videl realised the only people here that she _hadn't_ met for the first time today were Chi-Chi and Goten. And even then, she mostly knew them as Gohan's family.

That just dawned on her. _I don't know any of these people. I'm stuck in some building higher than the clouds and I don't know who I'm with, or why I'm here_. Wasn't that how kidnappings started? Well, besides the 'higher than the clouds' bit.

"So, Goku, explain what's going on!" exclaimed Bulma. "Where's Vegeta? Where's Trunks?"

"Where's Gohan and Goten?" asked Chi-Chi.

Videl snapped out of her tangents about kidnappings. _Finally, we get to know what the situation is!_

Goku looked at everyone staring at him for answers. "Goten and Trunks are going to be alright. They're just sleeping." He took a deep breath, and said "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Gohan and Vegeta are dead. They were both killed by Majin Buu."

Videl's first immediate reaction was disbelief.

Gohan. Dead? No, that was impossible. He was just joking, right? He couldn't die. He was…too young.

Bulma started crying. Yamcha had to hold on to her as she became increasingly hysterical. No matter what Vegeta had done, Videl realised Bulma still loved him.

Chi-Chi immediately fainted. Although, judging from the others' reaction, this was usual for her.

Grief was a strange thing. When the doctors came into to tell her her mother was dead, she didn't understand. She was quite young, she didn't even think that her mother _could_ die. It wasn't until she saw her lifeless body that she realised that, whatever happened to her, she wasn't coming back. She would have rushed towards her mother and done something, anything to try and wake her up, only to be stopped by her father.

"Let me go!" she had yelled. "I want to see mummy!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," he father had said. "Mummy can't come with us. She's gone….to a better place. But you have to be strong. Be brave for Daddy, OK?"

But she still couldn't understand.

That was what it felt like now. It was beyond comprehension for her. He couldn't be dead. He was Son Gohan; nerd, transfer student, superhero, Gold Fighter, and messenger boy. He was the boy who beat Cell, and probably the strongest person on Earth! He couldn't be dead. She never even got to say goodbye.

"He's not!" she yelled. All the raw emotions came out in a burst. "He's not dead!" If he was gone, she should _feel_ it, she should know. He was her friend, after all. No, more than that.

"I…I love him."

Only when she said it out loud did she know it was true.

How had it taken her so long to realise? She was supposed to be good at this boy stuff! They had been hanging out together for weeks, but she never thought she had actual feelings for him. More like a curiosity.

But the more she thought about it, the more she understood. She knew there was something different about him, ever since he was introduced in class. And she had done some really stupid stuff. Stalking him after school. Looking him up. Cutting her hair when he suggested it. Even leaving her family and friends to follow Chi-Chi. Before she wasn't sure why she did it. She couldn't work out the reason. But if it was because she loved him…it explained a lot. No wonder she had been acting weird the last few weeks.

The fact that she loved him in the first place was strange, because he was the last type of person that she'd think she'd have a crush on. He was shy, nerdy and had practically no social skills. _Either it's 'opposites attract',_ she thought, _or I always liked the nerdy ones from the start._ Maybe it was because he was the first guy her age that she met who really cared about her. Honest-to-god cared about her. The other guys _said_ that they cared about her, but they always assumed she never needed help – that she was too high and mighty to even _have_ problems. Gohan was never like that. He was the first guy who treated her like…well…a normal 16-year-old girl!

_And now he's gone._

She broke down and cried. _I never even said goodbye,_ she thought. _What were my last words? 'Go and be a hero again'?_ What a joke that was. She fled under one of the pillars, away from everyone else. No one came to talk to her, but she didn't mind. She just needed to be by herself for a while. She just needed to understand her feelings. These people were still strangers to her.

* * *

><p>She wasn't sure how long she sat there crying. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been an hour. But, soon enough, the tears started to dry up. She was still upset, of course, but the initial emotion had gone. No matter how depressed you were, it was often impossible to keep crying forever. <em>He's not dead, <em>she decided, _He can't be. He was too strong. They just don't know any better._

One time at school they had done the 5 stages of grief, and she remembered the first stage was denial. _If that's true, I'm going to deny the hell out of it. _She knew it was a coping mechanism, and she didn't care.

She decided to walk out to see what everyone else was doing. It was better than leaving all her grief to herself. But as she walked out, she saw everyone looked surprisingly hopeful as they set up their stuff. _That doesn't make any sense. Kibito said that if Majin Buu was free, he'd destroy us all. Why are they so happy?_

"What's going on?" she asked out loud, confused.

"Oh, Videl," said the short man, She'd forgotten his name. In fact, she wasn't even sure if anyone had introduced him to her. "There's some good news!"

How could there possibly be _good _news? "What good news?"

"We still might have a chance against Buu. Goku's going to get Goten and Trunks to use Fusion!"

"Fusion?" she asked, puzzled. "What's that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," he said. "They're going to fuse together into one being to get stronger. Only temporarily, mind you. It's a technique Goku learned in the Otherworld."

"…and you think they'll be able to destroy Majin Buu? But they're so young…"

"They're incredibly strong," said 18. "I fought them during the Budokai. They gave me a bit of trouble, and I've had experience with Super Saiyans."

_Super Saiyan_. There was that term again. Where had she heard it before? She couldn't remember. All this new information had come so quickly, she was getting it mixed up.

Yamcha came over, noticing the distraction. "Yeah," he added. "Goku and Piccolo are teaching them the technique upstairs. Or they're going to when they wake up. Something like that."

_At least they're trying to do something about this. But at the same time... _"Only them? Why don't you guys go and help them? Surely it would make it easier."

Yamcha sighed. "I'm sure we'd only get in the way. I stopped trying to keep up with them a long time ago. After all," he said bitterly, "We're only _human_. What could we do?"

"And they aren't?" Videl asked, noticing his tone.

They immediately started staring at her, surprised. "…Wait," asked the short man in disbelief. "You mean Gohan never told you?"

"Told me what?" she was getting frustrated. Why did they expect her to know everything? She barely knew their names!

"Ooh…" Yamcha cringed. "That explains a bit. She doesn't know."

"Then why don't you tell me?" she asked. Finally, the truth was coming out. _I want the truth,_ she had told Gohan. He never really got time to explain it all.

The short man sighed. "I guess we'll have to. It would be better if Gohan told you, but since he's dead…"

_He's not dead. _But she wouldn't start an argument here. This man... "Wait, I don't remember your name."

"It's Krillin," he said. And he started to explain.

* * *

><p>"So, how should I put it?" Krillin said, in thought.<p>

"They're…not…human?" Videl asked.

"Most of them," said Krillin. "You see, Goku…Goku's an alien."

Well. That was the last thing she was expecting. "He doesn't look like an alien,"

Although she didn't know what an alien _would_ look like.

"He looked more like one when he was younger…" he said. "But he's an alien. He's part of a warrior race from another planet called the Saiyans. Vegeta is a Saiyan as well."

Saiyan. _There's that word again! I finally get to know what it means!_ "They look a lot like humans."

"Well, most of the time," said Krillin.

She remembered how they could change their hair. "Does this have to do with them going blonde?" she asked.

Krillin chuckled. "Going blonde – sure, that's one way to put it. But, yes. We call it a Super Saiyan. It makes them a lot stronger."

_So, all these 'Saiyans' can do that? But so can- wait…_"So, if Goku isn't human, what does that make Gohan?"

"He's…half-human half-Saiyan, I guess. The other boys are like him, as well."

_Gohan isn't human._ On the one hand, that explained how he was so strong. On the other hand…"But he acts so normal. If I hadn't seen him at the Budokai, I wouldn't have believed you."

"Hey, like I said, it would have been better if he told you himself."

Videl suddenly got angry. "Why didn't he tell me?" she shouted. "This is a big thing. I'd like to know if the guy I'm going out with is _human!_"

"I think…he wanted to protect us," said Krillin softly. "He didn't want people to know the truth."

_The truth? He mentioned that he wasn't just hiding for himself._

"About Cell?" she asked.

"About Cell," agreed Krillin. "He was afraid how people would react. If _you _found out there were super-powerful aliens living on Earth, what would you think? You might be scared. And rightly so. They could easily destroy the planet if they wanted to."

_This still feels so surreal, though. I wasn't expecting aliens._ "Why ARE they here, anyway? If they're aliens, don't they have their own planet?"

"They did. But Freeza blew it up."

Videl raised her eyebrows. Who's _Freeza? I don't know anything, remember?_

"Oh, don't worry!" Krillin said dismissively. "Freeza's dead. Goku killed him a long time ago…or technically, Future Trunks did and – I've lost you again, haven't I?"

"Yes." She was getting frustrated with how much they expected that she knew.

"Well…" Krillin thought for a moment. "That's really all there is to know about it. They're aliens. That's pretty much the gist of it."

"And no one knew about this except for you guys." She thought about it for a second. "How did no one know about this?"

"We tend to go under the radar. Cell was the first time a threat made himself purposely known to the public. Except for King Piccolo, but I was dead for that, so I don't know how that ended."

_It's strange how casually they mention dying. But we just brought people back to life with the Dragon Balls. He must have been brought back before, as well._ "Isn't Piccolo one of you guys?" she asked, still curious.

"Yes," said Krillin. Then he suddenly added, "Actually, I forgot to mention Piccolo isn't human, either. He's a Namekian. He's not as strong as the Saiyans, but he's still stronger than us humans."

_That explains the green skin._ "And they're all stuck here, defending our planet."

"Pretty much."

There was just one thing Videl didn't understand.

"But why aren't any of you guys helping? The…non-aliens, I mean."

Krillin sighed. "We tried to, at first. Me, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chiaotzu. But we just couldn't catch up to their strength. Especially once they started going Super Saiyan. We eventually gave up. First Chiaotzu, then Yamcha…I don't know where Tenshinhan is right now. I'm the only one left who tried."

_Who tried? Tried what? _"What do you mean?"

"Well, I went with the others to try stop Majin Buu's revival, only to have that Dabura spit on me and turn me to stone. When I came back to normal, Majin Buu was free, and even the Saiyans were getting overwhelmed. It felt like a sign that I couldn't help even if I tried."

"That's not true!" she said. "I've never seen Majin Buu, but I'm sure if you tried your hardest you could help, somehow…"

Krillin started to laugh. "Oh, how it feels to be young and idealistic…"

"I'm not idealistic!" she exclaimed. She knew what that meant, and the way Krillin said it made it seem like a bad thing. "I just don't understand how you could just give up helping save the world!"

"Trust me," said Krillin. "All we can do right now is wait for Goten and Trunks and see if this fusion business works. If it doesn't, none of us stand a chance. None of us ever stood a chance." But then his mood brightened. "On the bright side, at least if we fail, we can all die together. And my wife and daughter are here."

"Wife and daughter?" _The only person who could be his daughter is Marron. But that means his wife must be..._

"#18, yes," said Krillin, noticing her shocked expression. "It took me a while, but she gave in in the end."

He stood up. "Now," he announced to everyone at the lookout, a pack of cards suddenly in his hands. "Who's ready for some poker?"


	14. Babidi's First Message

The others started to play cards. Krillin said 18 wasn't able to play, because, in his words, "_your poker face is just too good_." Videl wasn't sure if she was going to play. Her talk with Krillin had given her a lot to think about. _It's getting dark,_ she realised. _What's the time, anyway? I'm sure, once I sleep, things will look better in the morning._ Besides, Krillin hadn't had the sense to bring poker chips, so it didn't look like they had anything to bet. And that took out a lot of the fun.

She decided to sit and watch, even if she wasn't going to play. That's when she heard a voice in her head. _"Hello, people of Earth,_" it said. "_This is the wizard, Babidi, speaking. If you close your eyes you'll be able to see me."_

Everyone immediately stopped playing. Apparently, they could hear it, too.

_Don't close your eyes!_ she thought. But she couldn't stop herself from blinking, and, in that brief moment, the sight she saw was so horrifying that she had to keep watching.

_There was Babidi and what must be Majin Buu. They were hovering in mid-air, staring at a large city in front of them. Babidi was a short creature with a large, wrinkled head. He definitely looked like an alien. There was nothing human about him._

_Majin Buu looked entirely different. Despite being his father's creation, it didn't have any similarities to Babidi. Majin Buu was a fat creature with skin that was looked like it was same colour – and the same consistency – of chewing gum. It was completely hairless, with eyes so squinted that they were almost closed. All it wore was a pair of loose-fitting white pants with an 'M' emblazoned on them, the same ornate M that was on Spopovich and Yamu's foreheads._

_"You may have heard about a strange monster that's been killing your people. This monster belongs to me." He pointed to Majin Buu. "This here is Majin Buu, the heavyweight champion of the universe. He may not look like it, but he's incredibly strong. Currently, we've been annihilating this planet. At this rate, I say we'll destroy Earth's entire population in 5 days."_

_"Now, it matters not to me whether you live or die, but I'm feeling merciful. I'm giving you the night to rest without fear of Buu, but in return, you need to find these people who gave me a spot of trouble before. I'll show you them."_

_Three images popped up in her head. It was the faces of three people._

_Piccolo._

_Trunks._

_And Goten._

_"I give you until the morning to reveal their location. If you don't comply…" he looked at Majin Buu. "Buu, can you demonstrate? Remember to make it clean this time."_

_"Ooh, fun!" said Buu. It had a surprisingly childlike voice for a monster._

_It gestured, and suddenly, people were rising in the air, clearly against their will. Videl could see their terrified faces. There were…thousands of them. Was it the entire population?_

_Buu pointed the strange tentacle on its head at them. "Turn into candy!" it said._

_A beam of light shot out from Buu's head. When it hit them…they turned into pieces of candy, which were immediately sucked up into Buu's mouth. And then, with a huge breath, Buu levelled the entire city to the ground. The buildings were blown away, crumpling like building blocks. In a few seconds, all that was left of the city was a pile of rubble._

_"Consider that your entire population, if you don't hand them over. You have until morning," said Babidi. "If you know where they are, just call out to me with your mind. And don't try lying to me. I'll know."_

Then everything went dark. At first she was confused, until she realised he must have cut off the transmission, and her eyes were still closed. She opened her eyes again.

Everyone looked frightened. "I'll go," said Piccolo – him and the others must have come downstairs during the transmission. "We don't need more casualties."

"No," Goku stopped him. "When I'm gone, who else is going to teach the boys Fusion? I don't have much time left. And besides, we can undo all the damage with the Dragon Balls once it's all done."

Strangely, Videl wasn't scared. Not as much as she thought she'd be. If that vision was right, Buu was stronger and deadlier than she could have ever imagined – who else could turn people into candy? But the others didn't seem to be as worried as she thought. They were safe here, for the moment, and they seemed determined that whatever they were doing would work.

But there was a surprising thought in her mind, one which wouldn't normally concern her, but made her freeze now that she knew the truth.

_They're going to make my dad fight Buu. He's the World Champion, after all._

At that moment, everything just became too much. She couldn't sit still and play games any longer. She had to go back home. Videl took to the air immediately. She wasn't sure where exactly she was, and how far it was to her house, but if she kept flying down, she was sure she could find someone on the ground and ask them how to get home.

She had barely started flying before someone appeared in front of her, blocking her way. It was Piccolo. "Where are you going?" he asked sternly.

_So much for secrecy. Fine, I'll tell him._ "To find my dad," she said. "You know what's going to happen! They're going to make him fight off Buu! And he…" she finally admitted the truth to herself. "He doesn't stand a chance. He never did."

"And what would you can accomplish by going to him?"

That made her pause. She didn't know. She didn't have a plan of what she was going to do. If she told her dad he didn't stand a chance, he would just laugh it off. "Just smoke and mirrors," he would say. But at the same time, her father wasn't the only one in danger.

"Everyone I know and love is down there," she said. "And they're going to die by tomorrow." It was very grim when she thought about it like that. She had to help them, somehow. "Maybe…if I could tell them about the lookout…"

"And what are you going to do?" remarked Piccolo. "Fly them all up here? The lookout doesn't have room for everyone."

"I can try," she said stubbornly. She was starting to get angry. Again. Why was he trying to strike her ideas down? What did he know?

"You know it's meaningless in the end," said Piccolo. "You can't save everyone, Videl."

"I know that!" she yelled. "But don't you understand? I can't just do nothing!"

"Why not?" he asked.

**"I can't just sit here while there are people who need my help!" **She let her words ring out.

Piccolo was quiet for a long time. "It's pointless," he finally said.

"I know," she said. "But if I can help, at least a little, it'll all be worth it."

His expression softened. "Perhaps I was wrong about you."

She raised her eyebrows. "Huh?"

"When I first met you, I thought you were just like your father. Caring only about your own well-being."

"Hey-" she started, offended at the insult to her father, until she realised that he had good reason to think that. He did take credit for defeating Cell. _Gohan's credit._

"But now," he said, "I'm not so sure. It seems like you do care about the fate of the humans."

_Humans_. The way he said that, it was so…condescending. "Well, they _are _my people. Someone needs to care, even if none of you do."

Piccolo stiffened. "Don't tell me I don't care about them," he snarled. "I was once the guardian of this planet."

_Whatever that means._ "Why are you even lecturing me?" she asked. "I know you have more important things to do."

"But what will you do if I leave you alone?" he asked.

_Go to my father? Try to help people? Or stay here and try to do what I can to defeat Buu? _It was the question that would decide whether she lived or not.

"I think…I'm going to stay here," she decided.

"Really?" asked Piccolo, somewhat surprised.

"It's like you said," she pointed out. "If I go home, I can't save everyone. If I stay here, I might be able to help you guys stop Buu, and that will help all of us."

Piccolo looked at her with what looked like pity. _He thinks I'm idealistic as well, just like Krillin._

But she didn't mind what they thought. It wasn't like it mattered.

As she flew back, Chi-Chi announced "Dinnertime!"

* * *

><p>It turned out the Lookout had a lot of food to spare. Chi-Chi immediately started looking for what she could cook. Videl thought she should help, but she was a terrible cook. Considering they had a private cook at her house, it wasn't like she had much experience cooking for herself.<p>

It was a great meal. Even Goku arrived with Goten and Trunks. "We won't stay for long," said Goku, "But the boys need to keep their strength up."

Videl tried to talk to the boys, but they seemed surprisingly focused on getting back to learning Fusion. _Babidi's threat probably affected them. I've never seen those boys that serious. _But Goku was still able to crack a few jokes and make them laugh.

For the first time since the Budokai, everyone was actually having fun, despite the threat looming over their shoulders. It made Videl feel like everything was going to be all right, that she didn't need to worry anymore.

Goku left the dinner early with the boys. "It's the first time I've ever seen you leave the table first," remarked Chi-Chi.

"Well, we haven't finished training yet, and I only have a few hours left."

As they left, Chi-Chi yelled at his back. "Make sure they don't go to bed late! I know you have little time, but they're growing boys, they need their rest!"

"She's right! Don't forget it!" added Bulma.

After everything that happened, Videl wasn't sure how she could relax enough to go to sleep, but she drifted off, somehow.

* * *

><p><em>Videl started off at the lookout. It was still dark out. She wandered around, not knowing exactly what she was doing. But then Babidi and Majin Buu appeared right in front of her. She stumbled back instinctively. "But it's not morning yet!" she exclaimed.<em>

_"Please," said Babidi. "I knew where you were the whole time. What kind of wizard would I be if I didn't know _that?_"_

_Babidi looked around. "I don't see anyone else here. Buu, you can kill the girl first."_

_"Ooh," said Buu. "What should I make you? Candy or chocolate or cake?"_

_Videl started running away. She was panicking. Buu was going to kill her, she had to get away! But no matter how fast she went, Buu was always behind her. And it was getting closer._

_"Help me!" she yelled. "Someone? Anyone?" But no one responded._

_In desperation she screamed the person she needed. "Gohan. GOHAN!"_

_And, because it was a dream, he was right there with her._

_"I'm sorry, Videl," he said, that familiar sad smile on his face. "But us Saiyans need to stick together."_

_And he flew off with Goku, Goten and Trunks. She tried following them, but her feet felt like lead and she couldn't move, no matter how hard she tried. Meanwhile, Buu was getting closer._

_She was looking around in desperation, trying to find someone who could help her._

_And then, out of nowhere, her father was there. "I'll save you, Videl sweetie,"_

_NO! She realised. He's going to fail, right in front of me. He's going to embarrass me and everyone and _it's a dream, just a dream!

_She didn't want to see this. It was one of the few things that she could blame herself for._

_With excruciating effort, she managed to wake up from her nightmare._

Videl woke up, sweating. Unlike most of her dreams, this one was still in her mind. _Why do I always remember the bad ones?_ She didn't know what to do. If she went back to sleep, she had a feeling she'd have the same dream. And she didn't want to experience it again.

_Screw sleep._ She got out of the bed and walked outside, away from everyone else still sleeping. The images from the dream were still in her mind. And other images as well. She had been imagining what would happen if the public knew the truth about her father. What she'd learnt about him still weighed heavily in her mind. The fact that she didn't know her dad had lied to everyone felt like it was her fault. She should have figured it out. She felt responsible for it. It was her father, after all.

There was just too much she was worried about; her father, the fate of the world, whether Gohan was alive or not, and if knowing the truth about him changed anything. She was just so lonely.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

A person walked out of the shadows. It was Bulma.

"I keep getting nightmares." She was almost ashamed to admit it out loud.

"And you would," said Bulma, trying to defend her. "The Earth's in danger of being destroyed. Not to mention your boyfriend's dead."

_He's not my boyfriend, _she thought she was going to say, but instead ended up saying "He's not dead."

"You can tell the truth, you know," said Bulma. "I also lost someone dear to me today."

"You mean Vegeta?" Videl suddenly realised Bulma had tears in her eyes.

Bulma nodded. "He was stubborn, arrogant and prideful – but, at the same time, I know he loved me and our son – although he'd never admit it out loud."

"Gohan's not dead," said Videl. "I...I would feel it if he's dead. Wouldn't I?"

"You might," said Bulma. "Do you remember when we were flying to search for the Dragon Balls, and there was that shockwave that almost broke the helicopter?"

Videl tried to remember. "I think so," She hadn't thought much of it at the time.

"When that happened, my heart…I felt a horrible sense of dread. It was Vegeta, I thought. I didn't know how, but I could feel it. From what I know now, it seems like I was right."

She looked at Videl. "So, if you truly believe he's still alive, maybe he is."

"…Thankyou," she said. "I didn't think anyone else cared…"

"I know what it's like," said Bulma. "My ex-boyfriend also died, many years ago. '_You can just wish him back with the Dragon Balls',_ everyone said, but it didn't help. In fact, it just made me angry. It didn't change that fact that he was dead."

That made the conversation dry up.

They sat there, staring out at the stars. The lookout had an amazing view of the stars. It was so high up that the distant lights from the cities were just small specks. There was no light pollution, so you could see everything.

_It sure is a nice view. That's one thing._

"There's just a lot for me to take in," Videl said suddenly. She didn't know what had triggered the thought. Maybe she just had to say it out loud to someone.

"This time yesterday, I was getting ready for the Budokai. All I cared about was seeing everyone fight. And fighting, myself. I didn't know about any of this. And now…" Her voice trailed off. It was hard to get her feelings into words.

Bulma gestured for her to go on. "Get it out of your system," she said.

"Now, the world's in danger, an evil monster is killing everyone and may have killed Gohan, I've realised that I love him even though he's not entirely _human_, I found out there are a bunch of super-powerful aliens who've been fighting for us this entire time, and my dad…"

She paused. It was difficult to get the words out. She didn't want to admit it. Especially out loud, to someone else. But she knew it was the truth.

"My dad," she continued. "He lied to me. He's been lying to me, and everyone else for the last 7 years. _And I never even realised._"

"Is the problem that he lied, or that you didn't realise he lied?" asked Bulma.

"I don't know. Both," said Videl, confused. "It just feels like…like it's my fault somehow. Like because he's a liar, I'm a liar as well."

"You can't blame yourself. He probably had his reasons. And, when this is all over, you can ask him why."

"_If_ this is all over," remarked Videl. "How are we even going to win? You saw how powerful Buu was! That entire city was completely destroyed! I know the others think they're strong, but I'm not sure they can fight something like that."

"You can't give up hope yet," said Bulma. "Before the Cell Games, we thought we couldn't win. Vegeta and Trunks had already been beaten, and Goku wasn't sure if even _he _was strong enough. But we didn't know about Gohan."

"Gohan…" Videl sighed. "I just miss him so much. I never even told him how I feel."

"Tell you what," said Bulma. "Once this is all over – and yes, I said _once_ this is over – we'll use the Dragon Balls again. If Gohan _is_ dead, we'll bring him back to life, and you can tell him the truth."

_And he can tell me the truth about himself, as well,_ she thought.

Suddenly, a thought stuck her mind. "Wait a minute," she said. "We already used the Dragon Balls to wish people killed today back to life. Would that include Gohan?"

Bulma paused. "I…don't know. Perhaps. If he was alive, I'm sure Goku would have known, but…"

The thought gave her a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Gohan was still alive. Far away, maybe, but alive. It was the first hope that she had, and she was going to hold onto it for dear life. Believing he was out there…it made things a lot easier to manage.

Bulma held her shoulder. "Hey," she said. "I know this must be difficult for you right now, but you just need to hold on and stay strong. I promise you, once this is over, we'll do everything in our power to return the Earth back to what it used to be."

Bulma's words really helped. It made her realise that, despite everything that was going on, she wasn't alone. People still cared about her, even if she barely knew them.

Videl climbed back into bed. For some reason, she felt like she wasn't going to have any more nightmares.

And she was right.


	15. Goku's Departure

**[AN: Thanks for the kind comments! This chapter is one of the few times I'm changing things. In the original, Babidi broadcasts the fight between Fat Buu and SSJ2/SSJ3 Goku to everyone with his magic. I decided not to do that in my story, simply because it would be funnier to have everyone reacting to something Videl can't see or hear.]**

Videl woke up early. For a brief second, she was confused as to where she was. This wasn't her bed. She wasn't at her home. Where was she? Then, she saw the view and remembered. _I'm on the Lookout, and Majin Buu is free._ That got her depressed. She had hoped it was some kind of terrible nightmare. Despite this, she felt a lot better than she did last night. She was a lot more…hopeful that this would all be over soon.

It seemed like, despite it being rather early, a lot of people were already awake and active. _There's no way I'm going back to sleep with all this racket._ Groggily, Videl managed to get out of bed. She walked outside to where everyone else was. At least, everyone besides Goku, Piccolo and the boys. They must have already started training. It seemed like they were all early risers.

"Good morning, Videl," said Chi-Chi, noticing her arrival. "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as I'm going to sleep when the Earth is in danger of being destroyed."

"Well, at least Buu didn't kill us while we were sleeping," said Yamcha, walking over to them. "You've just got to think positively."

"Positively. Right," said Videl sarcastically. "At least we're not dead?"

"At least we're not dead," Yamcha agreed.

Videl could never fully appreciate what a strange situation she had gotten herself into. If they didn't have things to do, and if Goten and Trunks weren't still training to fuse, she felt like she would be constantly panicking. And she wasn't even the nervous type.

Then she heard a familiar voice in her head.

_Good morning, people of Earth. I trust you had a good sleep._

_It's Babidi!_ She thought.

_Buu and I have found some information about the people who managed to defy me. If you close your eyes, you will see we are currently above West City, the hometown of Trunks._

His name being mentioned made Videl freeze. _He knows their names now? How long will it be until they find us?_

_Here's my ultimatum. Demon Jr., Trunks and Goten must come to me in…maybe…10 minutes? If not, Buu will do to this city what he did to the last one. I trust you can cooperate. Have a good day._

And the message ended.

The boys were already outside with Goku and Piccolo. Everyone started to gather around, wondering what to do. Goku looked at Trunks, apologetically. "I'm sorry, but we can't take time out of Fusion practice," he said. "I only have a few hours left."

Trunks looked upset, but at the same time understood why he couldn't go. It was a sacrifice for the greater good.

"Wait!" shouted Bulma. "I just realised, I left the Dragon Radar at my house before we summoned the dragon! If the city is destroyed, the radar will be, too!"

Goku shrugged. "Can't you just build a new one?" he asked.

"Use your brain, Goku!" snapped Bulma. "What if we don't have the materials? And…" She stopped. "And what if I die? Can _you_ build another radar?"

Piccolo nodded in agreement. "She's right. We need to be able to collect the Dragon Balls as soon as possible. Too much damage has already been done."

Upon hearing this, Goku immediately took control. Videl was surprised how quickly he could go from relaxed to dead serious. "Trunks will have to get the radar. You wouldn't get there in time, Bulma. Trunks, do you think you can find it?"

Trunks nodded.

"In the meantime, I'll distract them by fighting Buu."

Krillin looked shocked. "Wait, Goku! Buu isn't a pushover. If you're not careful, it can kill you, too!"

"I know," said Goku. "But there are a few new techniques I learnt in the Otherworld that I haven't used here yet." He smiled. "And besides, I'm already dead."

Once Bulma told Trunks the location of the radar, Trunks flew off at top speed at the same time Goku used his teleportation technique. And they were gone.

Chi-Chi sighed. "And now, we wait."

All the tension Videl was feeling suddenly left her. "So, we just have to leave it up to them?"

Bulma smiled. "Don't worry, Piccolo will be keeping track. And, knowing him, he'll probably do running commentary, as well."

_Running commentary? _Videl didn't understand. "How does he know what's going on?"

"We can sense their ki levels," said Yamcha. "If, say, they suddenly decrease, we'll know they're not doing so well."

_So that's how they could follow Spopovich and Yamu. _It seemed like a very useful skill. She wondered if she could do it. Perhaps she would ask Gohan about it, once she saw him again. That was, if he was still alive.

"And Piccolo has really good hearing," Yamcha added. "The perks of being an alien. You know."

So, in the end, she kept her eye out on Piccolo and Krillin, standing at the edge of the lookout. She still wanted to know how they were going, even if she didn't fully understand.

A few minutes after they left, Videl understood what Bulma meant by running commentary. All of a sudden, Piccolo looked shocked. "Could it be possible?" he asked, to no one in particular.

"Could he really have surpassed an ascended Saiyan?"

_A what? They're talking in gibberish again._

"Wait, really?" asked Krillin. "That's what Goku said? If that's true, then what would that make him? _Double_ ascended?"

_OK, this is getting annoying. _"What exactly are you talking abo-" She started.

And then the ground started to shake.

_Oh no, oh no, please let the lookout hold._ While she wasn't scared of heights, she had still been a bit frightened of what would happen if the lookout collapsed. _She _could probably fly out, but not everyone here could fly.

To make things worse, the wind started to pick up. It continued rising until it became a gale. It was becoming difficult to keep a firm grip on the ground. She held onto a pillar for dear life. "Can someone tell Majin Buu to _not_ try and blow us off the lookout?" she shouted over the roaring wind. She had seen too much to know this wasn't a coincidence. Buu must have been causing it.

"That's not Majin Buu," said Piccolo. "That's Goku!"

"What?" she asked in disbelief. _But he's probably miles away! And we can feel the effects from all the way here? _It seemed every time she thought she knew how powerful these…Saiyans...were, they completely surprised her.

The gale eventually slowed down to a light wind, and the earthquakes stopped. Videl slowly sat up and tried to get her composure back.

"So…what happened?" she asked.

Bulma smiled. "Whatever it is, I think it's good." She pointed at Piccolo, Krillin and Master Roshi, who were all staring in shock and almost…awe?

"Super…Saiyan…3…" was all Piccolo could say, in amazement.

"What the hell is a Super Saiyan 3?" she asked.

"I think I know," said Yamcha. "You know what a Super Saiyan is, right?"

"Yeah." _It was one of the first things I knew. The Gold Fighter._

"So, there's a level of power beyond that. Gohan discovered that and used it against Cell."

_Huh. And he was about 9 when he did that. _"OK."

"If we call that Super Saiyan 2…" he paused. "Super Saiyan 3 would be a level of power even beyond that."

Videl frowned. "That doesn't seem possible," she admitted bluntly. She saw what a…Super Saiyan was like. How could anything be _stronger_ than that?

"That's what I thought, too," said Yamcha. "But Goku's power has become immensely stronger. It's…incredible. There's nothing else it could be."

Now that Videl understood, she was surprised at how uninterested she was. She couldn't see him, and couldn't even comprehend how powerful they were. Son Goku discovering some 'new level' of power was something that was completely beyond her. It just went over her head.

So she waited for them to get back.

Goku arrived first with his teleportation technique, and Trunks arrived with the radar soon after.

Everyone rushed towards them. The fighters wanted to know all about Super Saiyan 3, but Goku stopped them. He looked quite exhausted. "I only have about 30 minutes left," he said.

"But, you should have a few more hours!" said Piccolo.

"I know," replied Goku. "Super Saiyan 3 drains your energy very quickly. There's a reason why I only discovered it while I was dead."

"But there is some good news," he said. "I convinced Buu to wait 2 days for Goten and Trunks to be ready. That'll stop him from destroying the Earth, at least until then."

Because of that, they immediately left to practice for the short amount of time Goku had left.

As they were walking up, Goku told them, surprisingly nonchalant, "By the way, Buu has killed Babidi. So no one's coming after us anymore. Buu is more powerful, but he's not as evil. He just wants a good fight. And we're going to give it to him."

_Babidi's dead? So he's not going to be searching for us! _Everyone's mood visibly lifted. Maybe they had a chance, after all! As the tension she had from Babidi's threat faded, she walked around the lookout, not sure of what to do. Things were starting to get…awfully boring. While Videl was definitely happy that she was safe, she had noticed there wasn't much to do on the lookout. For one, the place was quite small, and the inner chambers were reserved for Fusion practice. She assumed she wasn't allowed in. Who knew what they were doing in there?

Not to mention, she was a bit lonely. She still felt a little out of place here, with all the humans, aliens and everything in between. There was no one her age, no one who could really relate to what was happening. They were all used to this 'threat to the planet' stuff. She wasn't.

Those thought were just going through her head when the lookout started shaking again. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as last time. And, judging by everyone's reactions, it had something to do with that Super Saiyan 3 again. It was amazing how casually they reacted to it. They all seemed to adjust very quickly.

Very soon after, Videl noticed a lone figure flying to the lookout. She immediately tensed, thinking it was Buu, but realised it was an small old lady who looked like she was travelling on a crystal ball. Whoever she was, she didn't seem to be a threat.

Goku immediately came out. "Baba, my time is up, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied the old lady. "It is time for you to return to the Otherworld."

Videl suddenly understood. _He only had a day to live, and now he's going back to… being dead._

Goku smiled. "I guess I'll say my goodbyes."

One by one, he farewelled the group. It was surprising how different each farewell was. He gave everyone a personal goodbye, talking about their own personal memories and experiences together. _He really knows these people well,_ she thought.

She still remembered Chi-Chi's reaction.

"Don't leave me, Goku!" she said in hysterics, tears streaming down her face. "I've already lost Gohan. I don't know what I'll do if I lose you, too,"

"Don't worry, Chi-Chi," said Goku, hugging her. "You still have Goten. As for me, if there was a way I could stay for longer, I would. But I don't have a choice."

Videl suddenly realised she was crying, too. _I barely know these people and I'm already emotionally involved._

Surprisingly, Goku even said goodbye to her. "I'll make sure to talk to Gohan in the Otherworld and tell him you're safe." he said.

_Might as well say it. Maybe Goku will believe me. _"He's not dead," she told him. "I don't know how to explain it. I just have a feeling that he's still alive."

Krillin smirked. "Aah, to be young and still in love..."

Videl ignored him.

She wasn't sure if Goku believed her. But, at the very least, he didn't try to prove her wrong.

A few more farewells later, Goku followed the old lady into the air. "I'll see you all when you die!" he said. But his carefree expression made what would normally be an ominous line sound optimistic.

Goku rose higher in the air, until suddenly, he and the old lady vanished. He had finally left.

Krillin sat down, disappointed. "Well, Goku's gone. Now what?"

Piccolo looked at him. "We have to start the Fusion practice for real."

And he left with the boys into the inner chambers.

"Wait, 'for real'?" Videl commented. "What were they doing last night?"

Yamcha shrugged. "Don't ask me. I wasn't there."

She sat down, bored. Yamcha seemed to understand her. "You don't have anything to do, do you?"

"Of course not," she replied. "How do you guys _deal_ with this? It's not like there's TV or anything here."

Yamcha sighed. "Even if there was a TV, I doubt it'd still be broadcasting with what's going on down below."

That made Videl depressed again. "If we fail, they're all going to die."

Yamcha looked over at her, concerned. Then he had an idea. "How about I show you around? Remember how I told you there would be a test?"

_A test? For what? _Videl tried to think back to when he said that. Then she remembered. It was when Bulma was introducing everyone to her, and she admitted she wouldn't remember all their names. Videl thought it was just a joke.

"Let's see how well you remember us," said Yamcha. And he led her around, talking to everyone and seeing if Videl could remember who they were.

Unfortunately, her memory wasn't so good. The only names she remembered were from the people she'd talked to before. But, through the tour, she had learned quite a bit. She found out the lookout actually belonged to the guardian (or god) of the Earth, who used to simply be called Kami before he fused with Piccolo. Now the title was taken by another green-skinned person called Dende.

"So, you're an alien, too, aren't you?" Videl asked him. If Piccolo was an alien, Dende would be one too. They looked very similar.

Dende nodded. "I was sent here as a child when the Earth had need of me. They needed to revive the Dragon Balls."

"Wait, _you_ made the Dragon Balls?"

Dende grinned proudly. "Kami created them first, but I remade them."

That was interesting.

Videl was also introduced to a weird black-skinned man called Mr. Popo. Apparently, he wasn't an alien. His appearance was still a little frightening. He had these huge white eyes that contrasted with his completely pitch-black skin. Despite this, Yamcha explained that he was one of the kindest, gentlest people here. He maintained all the vegetation on the lookout, and helped with getting the large amounts of food needed. "With a Saiyan's stomach, you practically need a full-time cook to feed even one of them."

"I have even prepared food in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, just in case," explained Mr. Popo.

Videl didn't know what that was.

They walked over to Krillin, 18 and Marron. Videl was pleased that she remembered all their names.

"Is 18 your real name?" she asked. It was the one thing that she still didn't understand. What kind of name was that?

She shook her head. "It's my model number."

"Model number?"

"She's an Android," explained Yamcha. "That's why she's so strong."

Krillin got annoyed. "Not an Android!" he insisted. "Technically, she's a cyborg, remember?"

Yamcha was confused. "Then why did we call them Androids?"

Krillin shrugged. "I honestly can't remember."

As they introduced themselves, Yamcha kept telling her little facts, like how Puar was his constant companion ever since he lived in the desert, or how Master Roshi was a massive pervert, or how Oolong was a shape shifter, but a poor one. "Don't rely on his abilities when you're in a pinch," Yamcha explained.

"Hey!" rebutted Oolong. "Remember when I saved the world from Pilaf?"

Yamcha laughed. "Of course. You wished for Bulma's panties."

"They weren't Bulma's!" said Oolong. "She just happened to have a pair just like them."

Yamcha looked around and noticed Videl's bewildered expression. "It's kind of a long story," he said.

Occasionally, she could hear Piccolo yelling, clearly at the boys.

"Does he have an indoor voice?" she asked, annoyed.

Yamcha laughed. "He's just a tough teacher. You should ask Gohan-"

Then he stopped, remembering they thought Gohan was dead.

He corrected himself. "When Gohan gets wished back, you should ask him about Piccolo. I'm sure he has a lot of stories."

* * *

><p>"There you go," said Yamcha. "All about us. What did you think?"<p>

Videl didn't know how to answer. She'd never met anyone like these people before.

"You're a…strange group," she eventually said. "I mean, you're all very different. How did you guys even meet?"

"Honestly?" said Yamcha. "Goku. Goku was the one who brought us all together."

He sighed. "It's a lot harder to keep our spirits up now that he's gone. With Goku around…you always had the feeling that things would turn out OK."

"Was he really that amazing?" she asked. She hadn't gotten to know Goku very well before he…well…died again.

"Definitely!" Yamcha became animated. "Think about it. On the one day he returns, not only does he show us he's stronger than Gohan, but he also learnt Super Saiyan 3! He found a level of power neither Gohan nor Vegeta could achieve. And keep in mind that he's been dead for the past 7 years."

That did sound impressive, the way he put it.

"But the boys must be stronger than even that, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have faith that they can win."

"Well, Goku believes they can do it, if they learn how to fuse. So we have to believe in them, as well. It's the only chance we have left."

And at that moment, as if right on cue, Piccolo emerged with the two boys.

"We're ready."


	16. Meet Gotenks

**[AN: How did Piccolo know about Super Saiyan 3 in the last chapter, if Babidi didn't broadcast it? I'm going to say the same way he knows about what's going on with Mr. Satan and Majin Buu. Magical lookout/guardian/Namekian powers? I dunno. Also, technically, the fusion fails the first 2 times, but I took that out. It was only a gag.]**

It had only been about a day since Goten and Trunks started Fusion, but it felt like a lifetime. Piccolo was confident that they were ready, so she had faith it would work. Videl was surprisingly excited. _If this works,_ she thought, _Majin Buu will be dead. And now that Babidi is gone, it will mean it's all over._ It was a thrilling thought. She couldn't wait to get back home. Hopefully her family and friends weren't dead.

She stopped herself. _Don't think about that. Don't think about them dying_. _You've got to think positively._

They decided the Fusion would take place on the outside of the lookout. Piccolo mentioned there was no telling what would happen if the Fusion succeeded, and he didn't want any collateral damage.

Goten and Trunks stood in front of them, around 2 meters apart from one another, with their hands facing away from each other. It was quite exciting to see Fusion in action. After so long of their secret training, they were finally going to show the _humans_ this special technique.

"Now, this is just a test run," said Piccolo. "Don't go Super Saiyan yet."

The boys were determined.

"Fu-" The boys walked closer together, their hands moving to face one another.

"-sion!" They then moved their hands facing away from each other, and stood on one leg.

"Ha!" They then placed their index fingers so they touched each other.

_That's the Fusion technique? _Videl thought. _It looks really stupid. _

But what happened next stopped her doubts.

The boys were suddenly engulfed in blinding light. A wind began to blow as Videl had to close her eyes. When she opened them up again, there was only one figure standing where there had once been two. They had fused.

The fusion was…pretty much what she expected it to look like. As if Goten and Trunks were mixed into a blender and the fusion was the result. His hair was partially Goten's black and partially Trunks' purple-grey. Videl just had one thought in her mind, one that she was somewhat ashamed to admit out loud.

_Why does fusion give them abs?_

She couldn't help but notice it, especially because they were only wearing a short vest that showed off most of their chest. A vest that looked very different to what the boys were wearing before. _Hold on, how did that happen?_

"How does it feel?" asked Piccolo to the boys – Bulma and Chi-Chi had decided on the name Gotenks.

"I feel great!" said Gotenks. _Even his voice is a mix between their original voices_, Videl realised. "I'm going to fight Buu now."

Piccolo looked alarmed. "But you're not even Super Saiyan yet! This is just a test!"

Gotenks looked like he didn't care. "See ya!" he called. "I'll be back…with Buu's body!"

And he flew off before Piccolo could do anything.

Piccolo stared at them in anger as they left. "Damn those boys!" he yelled. "They have to learn not to let the power go to their head!"

While they waited, the others started discussing Gotenks. While Piccolo seemed to doubt that they could defeat Buu like that, there was no denying Gotenks' confidence.

"He looked just like I thought he would," said Bulma.

"Never mind the looks," said Krillin. "His power…it was incredible! Now I understand why Goku believed in them. Who would believe Fusion could raise their power so much?"

Videl decided to join in. "Where did their clothes come from?" she asked.

They all turned to look at her in confusion.

She tried to clarify. "Their clothes," she explained. "Neither of them was wearing something like that when they fused. How did they change clothes?"

Yamcha started to laugh. "Of all the stuff you've seen, _that's_ the thing you're questioning?"

"It's the magic of the Fusion, I'm assuming," answered Krillin.

_So, apparently fusing can give you a wardrobe change? _It felt very bizarre. First they could change their hair, now they could change their clothes…were they warriors, or fashionistas?

Piccolo was still pacing around, frustrated.

Videl decided to go up to him. "What's wrong?" she asked. "The Fusion worked, right?"

"That's not the problem," Piccolo explained. "They're not at their full power, and yet they still went after Buu, thinking they were strong enough."

"Are they?" She wished Piccolo would realise _she_ didn't know how strong they were. At least, not by comparison.

"No, of course not!" said Piccolo. "They're incredibly strong – but not strong enough. Majin Buu managed to kill Gohan and Vegeta. For…Gotenks…to have a chance, he has to be stronger than it. He isn't without becoming a Super Saiyan first."

"Oh…" Videl started to understand.

* * *

><p>About 30 minutes later, Gotenks returned. His expression said all that they needed to know. "I got my butt kicked," he said simply.<p>

And, just as Videl was wondering how long the Fusion lasted for, it wore off, and with a flash of light, Goten and Trunks were separate again. Piccolo immediately went up to them and started reprimanding them for being so reckless, followed by Chi-Chi and Bulma.

_This is our last hope?_ Seeing the boys being lectured by their mothers really showed how bizarre this whole situation was. Majin Buu was…well, Videl didn't know _what_ it was doing, now that Babidi was dead. But the boys were the only ones who could stop it from destroying anything else.

Apparently, they had an hour before they could fuse again. Piccolo immediately dragged them off for more training. But, before they left, he looked at Videl strangely. It was only for a moment, but it made her realise that maybe other things were going on – things that the boys didn't know about.

An hour later, they came outside again, and Goten and Trunks were going to fuse again, this time as Super Saiyans. While everyone was nervous with anticipation, Videl felt strangely curious. She hadn't seen a Super Saiyan up-close, besides Gohan. And even then, she wasn't even sure what had happened to him. So, when they transformed, she examined them very carefully. From what she picked up, a Super Saiyan didn't look that different. They got gold hair, which seemed to be naturally spiked up. And their eyes changed colour. It was a strange colour – not quite blue and not quite green. There was a name for that shade, wasn't there? Like turquoise? Teal? Something like that.

"Is a Super Saiyan always blonde?" she asked Krillin.

He nodded.

_What a weird transformation,_ she thought. But, at the same time…

"I bet boys in my school would kill to be able to do this."

Krillin looked at her strangely. "But that's not possible. You can't be a Super Saiyan unless you're a Saiyan. It's not a human thing."

"I know. But the way it looks…it's very…rebellious. Like they're punks or something."

Krillin chuckled. "Oh, you should have seen Chi-Chi's initial reaction. Priceless."

He put on a high-pitched voice, trying to imitate her. "My sweet little boy's become a punker!"

"Is that what she said? I guess that makes sense."

He couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "It's just…interesting…seeing your reactions to all this stuff. I've been part of this weirdness for so long, I've taken it for granted."

* * *

><p>The boys fused once again. And, this time, Gotenks was a Super Saiyan, as well. They left immediately, promising to finish off Buu this time. But they didn't return. After 30 minutes – the others timed it this time, to make sure they knew when it would run out – their whereabouts were still unknown.<p>

Chi-Chi started to get worried. "What happened to them?" She went over to Piccolo, who seemed distracted.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "Are they OK?"

Piccolo snapped out of his thoughts. "The boys are fine," he said. "But they failed to destroy Buu…again."

Yamcha sighed. "What happened this time?"

"They spent too much time playing and not enough time fighting. They wasted most of their Fusion time flying around the Earth."

_You've got to be kidding me._ How many times would the boys have to attempt this before they got it right?

"Don't they realise how important this is?" asked Krillin.

"Individually, I think they do," said Bulma. "Together, I'm not so sure. It's like Fusion takes the worst parts of the boys and amplifies them. No wonder Gotenks doesn't listen to anyone else."

But strangely, Piccolo wasn't interested in their conversation. He seemed to be observing something else.

"What are you looking at?" Videl asked him, eager to know the latest developments.

Dende walked up to her. "Well, Videl, we may have some hope, because-"

"No!" Piccolo stopped him. "Don't tell them. Not yet. We mustn't get our hopes up."

And with that cryptic comment, he refused to answer any questions about it.

* * *

><p>Videl spent the next few hours in boredom. She even relented to playing cards with Krillin the others for a while. After all, they had nothing to do until Goten and Trunks arrived back. For some reason, the boys didn't want to come back. According to Piccolo, they were definitely still alive, but no one really knew what they were doing. <em>Piccolo must be getting frustrated,<em> she thought. _He can't even tell them off until they get back. Maybe the boys are delaying coming back on purpose, because they know they screwed up. _Now that she thought about it, that was probably the reason.

It was only a few hours later, as the sun started sinking behind the horizon, when the boys finally arrived.

"Hi!" said Trunks, nonchalantly. While he looked like he didn't care, he was acting a little…fake. Like he had practiced what he was going to say. "We're getting hungry. Is there any dinner-"

"Not so fast!" exclaimed Bulma. "You're not getting off that easily! Where were you two? We were worried sick!"

Trunks looked at Goten and rolled his eyes. "See? I told you they'd be like this."

"And rightly so!" added Chi-Chi. "We didn't know what happened to you! What if Majin Buu killed you?"

"I think Majin Buu's run out of people," said Goten. "The cities are all empty. We were looking around."

_The cities are abandoned? Did Majin Buu kill all of them?_ Goten looked a little distraught, and now Videl understood why.

"**ENOUGH**!"

Piccolo walked up to them, fuming. Everyone quickly got out of his way. It was clear his patience was just about gone.

"If you saw those cities, then you should understand the gravity of this situation! It's time you two started taking this seriously. Do you think this is a game? The fate of this planet depends on you two! Perhaps even the universe!"

This was getting awkward. Videl tried walking away – she didn't think it was appropriate to hear this lecture. But Piccolo was so _loud_! She could hear him no matter where she went.

"I wouldn't believe who your fathers were, seeing the attitude you've taken to this. Why don't you boys stop acting like children, and realise how much is at stake here?"

_Because they _are_ still children,_ Videl realised. _I don't know if I'd be able to be serious if I was their age._

"I'd say we will try the Fusion again, but it is getting dark. We will do some more training, then attempt it again in the morning – and no more slacking off! I'll make sure you two get the proper discipline this time."

* * *

><p>After that reprimand, everyone decided that dinner was the best idea.<p>

During the meal, Videl went up to Goten.

"Hey," she said.

"Oh, hi, Videl!" Goten seemed surprised that she was talking to him.

"So, were the cities really empty?" She needed to know what had happened. The boys were the only ones who had been down there and had come back.

"Yup." Goten stared down at his food. "All of them. We still saw some people around, but there were some cities that had no one there. I guess Buu really did kill everyone."

He sounded unbelievably sad.

"Did you see my father?" she asked him. He was the only one she cared about that Goten would have recognised. If Buu killed him, she needed to know.

Goten looked up at her, smiling sadly. "Nope," he said. "But he might still be alive. I hope he is. I don't want you to be sad."

Videl choked up, trying not to cry. _It's always the kids. I swear, if hear him say one more innocent thing I'm going to lose it._

"Well, good luck!" she said. And she ran off before she could fully break down.

* * *

><p>That night, she spent a lot of time in her bed, staring at the sky.<p>

_Dad, are you still alive? And Gohan. What about you? What are you doing right now? If you're alive, do you know that I'm here, thinking about you? I wish I knew what was going on, but I don't._

_Was it the right thing to stay here while Buu killed everyone else? Do I deserve to live while everyone else dies? I only got to the lookout by chance. That was the only thing that saved me. It wasn't like I was saved for a reason. In a way, it might have been easier to die along with everyone else. At least I wouldn't feel so…empty. I wouldn't feel anything at all._

_I just want this to be over. If anyone's listening to me, please let the boys succeed. I can't keep strong for much longer. It's been 2 days but it already feels like a lifetime._

And she went to sleep.

**[AN: Random idea. If anyone wants to, why don't you write a fanfiction of what Goten and Trunks were doing after failing Fusion for the second time? The anime makes it seem like they were delaying coming back. What were they doing in a world ravaged by Majin Buu?]**


	17. The Final Chance

**[AN: Writing this chapter made me realise how awesome Krillin's sacrifice was. He knew he didn't stand a chance, but he willingly gave up his life for the small chance that someone else could escape. People should talk about that moment more. It didn't mean anything in the long run, but what DID in the Buu Saga? Also, in this story, he tries to use the Kienzan (Destructo Disk) on Buu. Obviously, it wouldn't work.]**

Videl had a strange dream that night. She was going ice-skating with Gohan, as a first date, but he kept trying to fly. She was trying to explain to him that flying beat the whole point of ice-skating, when a large foghorn suddenly interrupted her dream. Except it didn't sound like a foghorn. It sounded more like someone yelling.

She woke up abruptly. She realised that the foghorn wasn't part of her dream – someone must have actually been yelling, and that woke her up. She tried to get back to sleep. _It must be really early._

But it didn't take long before she felt herself being woken up again. Someone was shaking her. Hesitantly opening her eyes, she realised it was Bulma.

"Buu's here!" she whispered. "Hurry up! We need to see what's going on!"

"Buu…" Videl, still half-asleep, was unsure of what was happening. "Why would Buu be here?"

"I don't know," said Bulma. "But Yamcha told me something's changed. Buu shouldn't be here until tomorrow. We need to check it out."

So they rushed to the exterior of the lookout. There, they saw it. Piccolo was talking to Majin Buu. But there was something strange about it. Buu looked a lot different from when she saw it in Babidi's vision. Whereas Buu used to be short and fat, now it was taller and a lot more muscular. Its normally closed eyes were now open, and even its expression was different. What made it like that, Videl didn't know. But it looked like Buu hadn't come to kill them.

"Where is the fighter?" asked Buu.

That's when Videl understood. _Goku promised it could fight Gotenks. That's why it's here. But after what happened yesterday…are the boys really ready for this?_

Having Majin Buu so close…here was the being that killed so many people, and she could only sit there. She felt angry. She wanted to get some kind of…payback for what Buu had done. She wanted revenge. But the others were practically glued to the floor in fear. What could she do?

_I won't let Buu scare me,_ she decided. _That's one thing that I can have control over._

"The fighter isn't ready yet!" Piccolo was saying. "Just wait, one more day, and he'll be set!"

"I'm tired of waiting," said Buu. "I want to fight."

"Please!" Piccolo pleaded. "He'll be stronger if you wait."

He paused, and with a painful look on his face, he added, "Surely there are still humans left that you can kill?"

"Fine," said Buu. It walked over to the edge of the lookout.

"Human Extinction Attack!" it yelled.

Buu's body became engulfed in purple light. It raised its hand, and the light came out in a large blast of energy…which then separated into what seemed like thousands of smaller blasts. Videl could only watch in amazement and horror. The energy balls flew all around them, falling down to the earth. If she didn't know what was happening, she could mistake it for fireworks. Large purple fireworks, that was.

It felt like it lasted for an eternity. Buu kept releasing more and more blasts. The way they fell…it didn't seem random. There was some kind of purpose to it. She soon found out what it had done. When its…attack had finished, Buu explained. "I killed every human on Earth. Can I have my fight now?"

Videl almost didn't believe it. _You can't just kill everyone on the planet like that. That's impossible._ But if she'd learnt anything these past 2 days it was that nothing was truly impossible. If Buu said it killed every human on Earth…it was probably telling the truth.

The impact of that fully set in. _Everyone's dead. All my family. All my friends. We're the only survivors._ She thought she was about to cry. But she'd experienced too much heartbreak already. She didn't feel anything anymore.

Piccolo was stunned. "We need more time…"

Then his expression brightened. He clearly had an idea. "Yes! Just wait one hour, one more hour, and you'll have the fight you want."

"What's an hour?" asked Buu.

Videl almost wanted to laugh. _It doesn't know what an hour is? What an idiot! I guess not all planet-destroying monsters are smart._

Piccolo created an hourglass. He was explaining when the sand fell to the bottom of the glass, an hour would be up.

Buu stood, staring at the hourglass, watching how quickly the sand fell.

"I don't want to wait," it decided. "This is taking too long."

_You've got to be kidding me. Buu sounds like a selfish child._ And, before she had thought about the consequences, she had blurted out "An hour isn't that long. I could do it, easily!"

Buu turned around and saw her. "How annoying. I think I'll kill her."

"Wait!" It was Piccolo. He stared at her…and something about her registered in his mind.

"That's Mr. Satan's daughter! She's telling you to wait! Do you remember Mr. Satan? Do you remember the promise you made him?"

Those words made Buu abruptly stop. It stayed still for a long time, as if mulling it over in its head. Eventually, it decided "Fine. I will wait. But afterwards, I will kill all of you. Including Satan's daughter."

It sat down next to the hourglass, waiting for the time to be up.

Videl was still in shock, not understanding what just happened. _What was Piccolo talking about? Why did he mention my father? What does he have to do with all this? _It was all news to her.

Buu was staring at the hourglass, and they were all staring at Buu. Considering how close it was, and how easily they could be killed…everyone was too scared to even say a word, worried they might offend Buu in some way.

But there was someone who didn't care. It was Chi-Chi. She walked towards it, fuming. And then she slapped Buu across the face. "You monster!" she yelled. "How dare you kill my son!"

Videl was silently cheering. _Yeah! You tell that monster! _But then she remembered why she hadn't tried to attack Buu, either. Buu didn't even flinch from Chi-Chi's attack. She might as well have been a fly, for all the good it did. And, with a look of complete boredom on its face, it pointed its tentacle at her and said "Turn into an egg."

And, just like that, Chi-Chi was an egg. It was so fast, she didn't even have time to scream.

_Killing her would have been less cruel,_ thought Videl, still in her detached state. Something about having the killer of most of humanity standing right across from you made you lose all sense of feeling. Maybe Chi-Chi was the only one who still had some fight in her.

Luckily, Buu put Chi-Chi out of her misery soon. He stood up, and crushed the egg, killing her. At least, she assumed that would have killed her. It.

But then, behind her, she heard a moan of horror. It was Goten. _Oh, no. How is he going to react? That was his mother!_

That snapped her out of her detached state. It felt like she was awake again. But that just made things worse. Seeing Chi-Chi die like that…Videl didn't know how much longer she could deal with all the death and destruction.

Next to her, Bulma looked like she had a different way of coping. She was desperately chanting "Dragon Balls, Dragon Balls, Dragon Balls," softly.

Videl looked at her. "Are you…alright?" The way she was repeating those words…was she going mad? Were they all going mad? It felt like it. Her grip on reality was slowly slipping. She knew it.

Bulma took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she said. "This is just…the first time they've gone after _us_."

After Chi-Chi's death, everyone decided the best thing to do was to not confront Buu. But, despite being utterly terrified, they couldn't stop themselves from watching it. It stayed completely still, staring at the hourglass. The way it stood…it was so unnatural. It didn't blink, or fidget. It seemed to never tire. She had never seen such an inhuman thing in her life.

But then Videl noticed Piccolo on his own, staring at Majin Buu. She used the opportunity to go up to him. She needed a distraction. Anything was better than being stuck in that state of horror.

"Piccolo?" she asked. "Before, when you were talking to Majin Buu, you mentioned my father. How did Majin Buu know him?"

Piccolo turned to look at her, his expression surprisingly soft.

"Your father…was a hero. He took it upon himself to find Majin Buu. However, he did not fight him. Your father realised something that we did not – that Buu was not evil. Buu was like a child – simply destroying because that was all that he knew. Instead of trying to destroy him, your father taught him kindness. And he convinced Buu to change his ways."

_My father…did that? _Videl couldn't believe it. After everyone telling her that her father was a fraud, she hadn't expected him to be brave. She hadn't expected him to do anything.

"Buu doesn't look like its changing its ways now, though," she commented.

"No, it's not," said Piccolo. "Unfortunately, the actions of men caused Buu to expel its evil. Its good and evil sides fought. And the evil side won."

"What does that mean?"

"It means now Majin Buu is a creature of pure evil, not stopped by compassion or mercy. Buu cannot be reasoned with anymore. Our only option is to destroy it."

Videl sighed. "Well, that sucks."

Piccolo almost smiled. "It does, indeed."

* * *

><p>After about 30 minutes – the longest, most stressful 30 minutes in Videl's life – Majin Buu finally ran out of patience. It smashed the hourglass in half. If it was any other time, Videl would have found it funny how little patience this creature had. <em>I guess, if you can kill everyone in a blink of an eye, waiting doesn't come easy to you.<em>

"I've had enough!" it yelled, and shot a blast right through the floor of the lookout. Fortunately, the lookout could still stand after that. They weren't going to fall and die. But the destruction of the place seemed to affect Piccolo in a way not many other things did.

"Alright," Piccolo said. "I'll let you fight them. Just follow me."

He started walking, with Buu following him. Videl noticed that Piccolo was exactly hurrying. It was like he was trying to purposely waste Buu's time.

They two looked like they were going inside the lookout. Bulma led the charge to follow them a safe distance away.

"Where are they going?" she asked them, as they started to gather together.

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber," explained Krillin. "Time moves much faster there than it does in here. I brought the boys in a few minutes ago, but it's probably been a few days for them inside since then."

_Huh. So, apparently, something like that exists. _

"Why are they fighting in there?" asked Bulma, as they sneakily walked ahead, keeping their eye on Piccolo and Buu.

"Probably to give the boys more time to train," answered Master Roshi. "They need all the time they can get."

Despite everything, Bulma found this annoying. "Aww… Now Trunks' physical age is going to be out-of-whack. It's hard enough working out how old Vegeta is supposed to be."

Everyone smiled. "You never change, do you, Bulma?" commented Yamcha.

Slowly, Piccolo lead Majin Buu to the entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He opened the door, let Buu inside, and shut the entrance behind him.

So, for what felt like the millionth time, Videl had to sit and wait while the others fought. Except, with all the past failures, she didn't feel as hopeful as she used to. But it only took about a minute before the entrance to the chamber suddenly disappeared. It hadn't broken, or anything. It just vanished like smoke. She didn't understand what it meant.

"What just happened?" asked Bulma.

"The entrance has been destroyed," said the genie. Mr. Popo, that was his name. "It must mean the exit from the inside has also been destroyed."

Krillin sighed. "I guess Buu was too tough even for them."

"What do you mean?" asked Bulma, getting hysterical. "How are they supposed to get out?"

"They're not," said Master Roshi. "This must have been Piccolo's plan. If Majin Buu was able to defeat them, he would destroy the only exit, so Buu would not be able to escape that dimension."

"But what about Trunks, Goten and Piccolo?" asked Bulma. "What if they're still alive? If they're alive, we can't wish them back with the Dragon Balls!"

"Don't worry, Bulma," said Krillin. "If Buu's still there, I'm sure he'll kill them eventually."

_That_ did it. Bulma slapped him.

"A monster is going to kill my son, and I should be _glad_ about that?" she shouted. "They're only boys! Do you know how distressing that would be for them?"

"It's necessary," said Master Roshi.

"They shouldn't have been made to fight in the first place!" Bulma continued. It looked like she had been mulling this over for a while. "It doesn't matter how strong they are, they're still children! And you grown men used them as _bait_! You should be ashamed of yourself! You…you _cowards_!"

And she stormed off.

The men sat there, awkwardly, not wanting to follow her. "She's right," said Krillin. "But we didn't really have a choice. It was use the boys, or let the Earth be destroyed."

Videl didn't know what to do. She didn't know what side she was on. On the one hand, the boys were still children. Making them fight a planet-destroying monster just felt…wrong. On the other hand, it wasn't like _they_ could have done anything instead. At least, that's what everyone told her. And seeing Majin Buu up close, seeing what it was capable of, she understood why they believed that.

Suddenly, she heard an ear-piercing shout. It was like normal yelling, only…a thousand times as loud. Videl covered her ears, trying to desperately block out the noise. There was something _wrong_ with the noise. It didn't even sound human. But it only lasted a few seconds before it became quiet again. Everyone followed the sound, wondering what had happened, and what had caused it. Outside, they understood.

It was Majin Buu.

Somehow, it had escaped the chamber. There was no sign of Piccolo or the boys anywhere.

"You bully!" shouted Bulma, obviously still angry from her previous outburst. "What have you done with Trunks and Goten?"

Buu didn't even react to her yells. "I'm hungry," it said. "It's time to eat! How about chocolate?"

It was amazing how it could make an almost comedic line sound absolutely terrifying.

_It's finally happening,_ Videl realised. _This is where I die._

The despair that she had been trying to keep in…she couldn't hold it much longer. She just hoped that her death would be quick. Then everything would be over. She wouldn't have to feel anything anymore.

But then someone stepped forward. It was Krillin.

"18," he said. "Grab the others and get out of here. I'll fight Buu."

"No, Krillin!" yelled 18, in a rare show of emotion. "You don't stand a chance!"

Krillin turned back to face them. He smiled. "I know," he said. "But I need to do something. Bulma's right. I've been hiding behind others for too long. And if my sacrifice can allow at least one of you to survive, it'll all be worth it."

He looked around at everyone. When his gaze met Videl, he winked.

That's when Videl understood. _I said something like that to Piccolo, back when I wanted to leave. Piccolo must have told him about it._

"Now run!" he yelled. And he charged at Buu.

"Come on!" said 18.

They didn't waste any time, and started running as fast as they could away from Buu and Krillin.

And, as they ran, they heard Krillin's shouting. "KIENZAN!"

Despite the fact they were running for their lives, Yamcha still smiled.

"When has the Kienzan ever worked, Krillin?" he asked to no one in particular.

18 took charge. "We have to get off the lookout," she said.

"But how?" asked Bulma, a little hysterical. "I can't fly!"

"Someone will have to carry you." 18 started counting everyone. She was clearly trying to work out how many people could fly.

"Videl," she said. "You can fly, correct? Can you carry Marron?"

_What? Me? _"But…she's your daughter…" Videl said. It was a lot of responsibility. She didn't know if she could be trusted with keeping her safe.

"We don't have any other options," said 18.

But then, suddenly, Majin Buu appeared right in front of them. It blocked their path.

"It's time for a treat," it said.

_I thought Krillin would give us more time, _she thought. But she knew there was no way to escape anymore. There was no way Buu would leave them alive.

So, Videl gave up, and accepted her fate. _If the boys are dead, then there's no more hope. We're all doomed._

"Turn into chocolate!" yelled Buu, pointing its tentacle at them.

There was a horrible pain, and then she couldn't feel anything. Was this what it was like to be chocolate? She knew it was only a matter of time before Buu ate her like the rest of them. But she didn't care.

It was strange, how peaceful she was after she'd accepted death.

_Gohan,_ she thought. _If you really are dead, at least I'll see you soon._

There was a stabbing pain, and then there was nothing.


	18. The Otherworld

**[AN: This is the one piece of filler I decided to keep. Dabura being sent to Heaven is mentioned in the manga, so it was never completely made up in the first place. And it allows everyone to actually DO something while they're dead.]**

Videl was free. Floating in an empty void. She couldn't see, she couldn't feel.

Eventually, she realised she had some sort of consciousness. What was going on? Was she dead? If so, how was she aware she was dead?

A spot of light appeared in the distance. It became bigger and bigger, colours forming until Videl could make out what it was. It seemed to be a large building, surrounded by clouds. Was this the Otherworld?

Against her will, she felt herself getting pulled down to the end of the long the path leading up to the building. As she landed on the path, a strange creature, who was for some reason dressed like a salaryman, directed her to a queue.

"Wait for King Yenma to decide where you're going. If you cut in line, I promise you, you're going straight to Hell."

Videl tried to move her legs, but nothing happened. She didn't move at all. Looking down, she noticed the problem. She didn't have legs! The bottom half of her body had merged and twisted around like a puff of smoke. _So, I don't have a body. I guess I really _am_ dead. _But it looked like she wasn't the only one in this predicament. Staring ahead in curiosity, Videl could see a line of people, stretching farther than she could ever imagine. It looked like there were millions of people waiting. Were they also waiting to be judged? Were they also dead? _Of course,_ she realised. _If this is everyone who's died…Buu killed a lot of people recently._

Then she noticed the person right in front of her. It was Bulma.

"Bulma!" she shouted, trying to get her attention.

Bulma turned around. She frowned when she noticed her. "Videl!" she exclaimed. "I didn't want Buu to kill you, too!"

"It's OK," said Videl. "It's not like it would leave only one of us alive."

"Is that you guys?" asked a voice from behind her.

Videl turned around. It was #18, with Marron behind her. And behind her was everyone else. Well, almost everyone. She didn't see Krillin or Yamcha.

"So, are we dead?" asked #18.

Bulma sighed. "I think so," she said. "This sounds like what the guys said the Otherworld was like."

_Speaking of the guys…_"Where's Krillin?" asked Videl. "And Yamcha? Shouldn't they be here as well?"

"Maybe they're in hell," remarked #18.

It was such a horrible joke, and yet Videl couldn't stop herself from having a small choke of laughter.

It was a strange feeling, being dead. Videl since you didn't have a body, or proper legs, you couldn't exactly walk. Instead, you had to sort of _will_ yourself into moving. It took a while to get used to, but once she got the hang of it, it was actually quite easy. You didn't have to use any energy. But it wasn't like you actually had energy to spare, now that you were dead. She didn't exactly understand what she was. A spirit? A soul? The others didn't know any more than she did.

While there probably were six billion humans waiting to be judged, the line still progressed pretty fast. Videl didn't remember how long it took to get to King Yenma himself – a giant, red skinned creature who was working on a desk fitting his size, the largest desk she had ever seen in her life. She barely had time to register his strange appearance before he settled that she could go to Heaven.

"NEXT!" he boomed, and she found herself being pushed aside.

As she entered Heaven, there were many people. Or spirits. Or whatever they were. It was quite busy with people meeting up, desperate to see each other now they were dead. It was somehow both depressing and joyful.

Then she recognised Chi-Chi, waiting anxiously near the entrance.  
>"Chi-Chi!" called Bulma.<p>

They embraced one another. "I was waiting for you," remarked Chi-Chi.

"Didn't you want to find your husband?" asked Videl. She remembered Goku was dead now. As she looked around, she saw #18 hovering away. Perhaps she was looking for Krillin? Videl decided not to follow her. She didn't know her as well as Chi-Chi and Bulma.

"Oh, Goku would never be here," said Chi-Chi. "He'd be off training somewhere. That's why I was waiting for someone. I needed to know what was happening."

They filled Chi-Chi in on everything.

* * *

><p>After they finished their explanation, Chi-Chi frowned. "So, what happened to Goten? And Trunks?"<p>

Bulma sighed. "We don't know. Apparently, they're still in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. I wish there was something we could do."

"There isn't anything we can do," said Chi-Chi honestly. "If the boys really are dead, then we'll be stuck here forever."

That made Videl feel depressed. Even if this was a paradise, there was so much she had wanted to do with her life. And Majin Buu was still free. They weren't the only ones still in danger.

Bulma seemed to understand. "We need something to do," she said, trying to cheer everyone up. "Something that makes us feel like we're contributing."

Chi-Chi thought for a moment. "I was thinking I'd look for Gohan. To tell him what's been going on. If we're dead, I want to at least find my son."

_Gohan? But…_

"Gohan isn't dead!" exclaimed Videl. "I told you! Why won't anyone believe me?"

"We might as well try," said Bulma. "Put it this way. If we _don't_ find him, then we'll know that he's alive."

So they decided to search for him. It was a job to do, at least. She'd search for her friends after she had found him. After all, not being able to tell Gohan the truth had been one of the biggest regrets in her mind as she died. And then perhaps she'd look for her father. Although Piccolo had mentioned Majin Buu might not have killed him, due to the connection they used to have. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

As they travelled around, Videl asked Bulma, "Are we going to look for Vegeta as well?"

Bulma's face fell. "Don't bother," she said sadly. "He wouldn't have been let into Heaven. Not after what he's done."

"You mean killing all those people at the tournament?"

"Not just that," said Bulma. "There were also other things…things he did before he met me."

Videl didn't ask to elaborate. Whatever he had done, it was clear by Bulma's tone that it wasn't anything to be proud of.

* * *

><p>They kept drifting through the recesses of Heaven. After a while, Videl realised it was pointless to keep calling Gohan's name. She had this gut feeling that he wasn't there. But whether that meant he was still alive, or that he was dead, but not in Heaven, she didn't know.<p>

After some searching, they ended up in a field of flowers. It was almost completely deserted, which was strange. There was a lone figure in the distance. Who was it? It didn't look like Gohan, but they still might have seen him.

"Hey," called Videl. "HEY!"

The figure turned around. It wasn't a human. It looked like some sort of a demon. He was extremely tall, with red skin, pointed ears and a majestic looking outfit with a cape. He would have been terrifying if he wasn't standing amongst the beauty of the flowers.

The juxtaposition was almost funny.

"What is someone like you doing in Heaven?" she asked bluntly. Normally she would have been scared to approach him, but she had worked out pretty quickly that you couldn't be harmed in Heaven. After all, you couldn't kill someone who was already dead. So no one was a threat, no matter how terrifying they looked.

The figure seemed amused by her words. "Yes, I am not suited to be here. I am Dabura, King of the Demon World, and former servant to Babidi. I was killed by Majin Buu and sent here. Yenma said I would have enjoyed Hell too much."

"That's an unusual punishment," said Bulma thoughtfully.

_Wait a second._ "Did you say Babidi? And Majin Buu?"

Dabura examined them. "You are humans, correct? Then you may be familiar with Majin Buu, if it truly has been released onto the Earth."

"Of course we're familiar with it!" exclaimed Bulma. "It's the reason we're dead!"

"My apologies," said Dabura, sincerely.

But Videl didn't understand. "If you were working for Babidi, why did Majin Buu kill you? Wouldn't you be on the same side?"

Dabura shook his head. "I had a change of heart. Seeing what Majin Buu was capable of – I could not let it be released into the universe. I tried to attack it, but despite my great strength, I was defeated." He looked a little embarrassed. "It turned me into a cookie," he admitted, sheepishly.

"Don't worry about that," said Chi-Chi. "I was turned into an egg."

And they all started to laugh. It was such a strange way to die.

"Majin Buu's power was terrifying," Dabura commented. "I thought the boy I had fought earlier was powerful, but Majin Buu was beyond anything I could have imagined."

That caught Videl's attention. _Wait, if he fought a boy…and he was working for Babidi…_ It was too much of a coincidence.

"A boy," she blurted out. "Do you mean Gohan?"

"Gohan…rice…" he thought. "I do believe he was named after some type of food."

"Then it was him!" she exclaimed. "We're looking for him!"

"Did he die?" he asked. "My deepest condolences."

"Why are you apologising?" she asked, confused. "If you tried to kill him…"

"Under Babidi's orders," he said. "But I did not feel the need to destroy him in my heart. He was a tremendously strong fighter. It seemed a waste to kill him."

"If that's the case, why don't you come and help us look for him?" suggested Bulma. "Don't tell me you have something better to do."

Dabura looked around the field. "I suppose so. I could apologise for my earlier behaviour."

"You mean you're good now?" asked Videl.

"I wouldn't put it that way," grinned Dabura. "But yes. I disobeyed Babidi's orders. Despite what my master thought, I care deeply about life. I would not want it to be utterly annihilated – by Majin Buu or by anyone else."

And that was how they ended up searching for Gohan with the help of the king of the Demon World.

* * *

><p>"What was he like?" Videl asked Dabura, as they started drifting through the fields.<p>

"Pardon me?"

"Gohan," said Videl. "What was he like? You fought him, didn't you?"

Despite everything she had seen, she still didn't get to see what Gohan was truly capable of. Heck, she never even got to see him fight! It was one thing she wished she could have witnessed firsthand.

Dabura understood. "Gohan, his fighting was…" he paused, trying to find a word to describe it. "Unrefined," he decided.

"Unrefined?" she asked, confused.

"He had power – incredible power – but it seemed like he wasn't exactly sure how to use it."

"Oh." That was disappointing. After everything she'd heard about him, she was almost expecting him to be some kind of super-fighting badass. That was probably an unrealistic expectation of him. He was still a massive nerd, after all. A super powered half-alien nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.

"Do not underestimate him!" said Dabura, noticing her expression. "He had strength I couldn't believe someone like him could ever possess. His power level fluctuated wildly. If I hadn't found a suitable Majin candidate amongst them and ended our battle early, there were times when I thought he could have defeated me. I, King of the Demon World!"

Videl sighed. "But he still couldn't beat Majin Buu."

"You can't be so sure about that," said Dabura thoughtfully. "Perhaps, if he learnt how to harness his power efficiently, he may have stood a chance. I feel like even he did not know what his true power was."

That made her feel a little better. "I just hope he's OK."

"You really care about him," remarked Dabura.

"I love him," she said. She knew it was the truth.

Dabura paused. "You don't mean…true love?" He started getting excited.

"I don't know," said Videl. "I don't even know if he likes _me._"

"You should always be honest with yourself," said Dabura. "If you tell him how you feel, I'm sure he'll understand. What is there to be afraid of? Rejection?"

It was good advice. But, at the same time… "I can't believe I'm getting advice on my boyfriend troubles from the King of the Demon World. While in Heaven."

"It is an unusual situation," said Dabura. "But we are in unusual circumstances. Majin Buu is free, after all."

* * *

><p>After that, they continued drifting. It felt like time passed differently when you were dead. Videl didn't know how long they were searching. Each time their search came up short, she became even more hopeful that Gohan was alive. But, now that she was dead, she wasn't sure how she felt about that.<p>

After a long time of searching, they somehow arrived back at the field of flowers.

"We went in a circle!" cried Videl. "I didn't even know you could _do_ that in Heaven."

"We must have missed somewhere," said Bulma. "We couldn't have searched the entire afterlife already. We haven't seen nearly enough people."

When Videl looked, Dabura was hurrying towards the flowers.

"Have you _seen_ the colours of these?" he asked in eagerness. "I didn't know this many colours could truly exist!"

He started picking the flowers, one of every colour he came across.

Videl smiled. It was great even Dabura wasn't as evil as he looked. It gave her hope that people could change.

Suddenly, she found herself rising in the air.

"What's going on?" she asked, panicking. This had never happened before. The ground was getting further and further away, and yet she couldn't stop herself from rising.

Bulma and Chi-Chi were also rising. "Maybe…" thought Bulma. "I think we're being brought back to life!"

"That would explain it," said Dabura. "Your souls are leaving the Otherworld. That's why you're rising."

But, as Videl followed his voice, she noticed his soul remained on the ground.

"What about you?" asked Chi-Chi. "They aren't bringing you back?"

Dabura thought. "Perhaps they are not reviving the evil ones. I believe that has happened once before."

_When we wished back the people Vegeta killed._

A few seconds later, she fully understood what his words meant. "But you're not evil anymore!" burst out Videl. "You said so yourself! You've changed!"

Dabura gave a small laugh. "They do not judge the deeds of the dead, Videl," he told her. "Only the sins of the living. What I have done here does not count."

Videl couldn't believe it. After all this, he couldn't come with them? It wasn't fair!

Chi-Chi started waving to Dabura as they rose. "Farewell, Dabura," she said. "Perhaps we will see each other when we die again."

Bulma followed suit. "Not that we want to die, or anything," she added. "Don't be offended if we don't come back soon."

Dabura didn't mind. "Do not worry about me," he said. "I have plenty to entertain myself." He gestured at the flowers around him.

Videl almost felt like crying. "I'm sorry you can't come with us," she said.

"It is not your fault," reassured Dabura. "But, Videl, when you go back, there is one thing you need to do for me."

"What is it?" asked Videl, although she had a feeling she knew the answer.

"Find Gohan," answered Dabura. "Tell him how you feel. I want to know that true love will succeed."

_He's so melodramatic,_ she thought. But at the same time, she nodded. "I'll find him. Don't worry."

Dabura became smaller and smaller as they rose higher and higher, until she could no longer distinguish him from the flowers that surrounded him. The entirety of Heaven was unfolding in front of her. All she could see was colours. And, as she looked around her, she noticed she wasn't the only one being brought back to life. There were…what looked like millions of other figures being raised in the air with her.

_How did this happen? Was it the Dragon Balls again?_ But she didn't have time to think about it. Where the boundaries of Heaven ended, there was only blackness. As she rose, the Otherworld became smaller and the blackness became larger. And as it became so small that she couldn't even see it, the blackness took hold of her, and she felt nothing more.


	19. The Spirit Bomb

Videl suddenly awoke. She could feel the floor on her face. She opened her eyes, trying to process her surroundings.

She was lying facedown on the floor of the lookout. It was inside one of the outer rooms, near the exit. The place where Majin Buu had found them. The place where she died.

She was definitely back to life. As she started to get up, she saw the entire group all around her. It made sense. They were all there when Majin Buu had killed them.

"How are we alive again?" asked #18.

"They must have used the Dragon Balls," said Bulma. "That's the only explanation."

Once this registered, 18 immediately ran outside, bringing Marron with her. _What is she looking for? _Videl thought. Then she remembered. _Krillin. He died outside. She's seeing if he's alive, too._

"How did they use the Dragon Balls, though?" asked Yamcha. "I thought they were inactive. We just used them!"

Bulma sighed. "I don't know," she said. "Unless someone used the Dragon Balls on Namek, but they shouldn't have been able to bring all us back at once. I thought they could only bring one person back at a time."

_They're talking about stuff I don't understand. Again._ But Videl didn't bother asking for clarification. Did it really matter how they got back? The most important thing was they were there.

They all decided to go to the outside of the lookout, so they could see if anyone else was coming. There, they found Krillin, joyfully holding Marron. 18 was…being 18, and staying back, aloof. But it was clear to everyone she was glad Krillin was alive.

"So, where were you guys?" asked Chi-Chi to Yamcha and Krillin. "We didn't see you."

"Oh," said Yamcha. "We were at King Kai's, getting some training in."

Bulma looked disappointed. "Right," she said. "For a while, we thought you'd gone to Hell."

"Hey!" shouted Krillin, annoyed.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, Videl heard a gruff voice cutting though her mind. She'd heard it before. It sounded like someone she'd met, but she couldn't remember who.<p>

_People of the Earth! Listen carefully!_

Judging by everyone else's reactions, they could all hear it too.

Bulma's expression explained everything.

"Vegeta!" she shouted.

_As you know, some strange events have been taking place recently. Your entire planet was destroyed at the hands of Majin Buu. But then, in a snap, everything was restored to normal. Many of you are doubting if all of this actually happened. But, I can assure you, this is _not_ a dream._

_Unfortunately, Majin Buu is still alive and the Earth is still in grave danger. A small group of warriors have taken up the fight on your behalf. However, the battle has been extremely difficult, and we can't win it by ourselves. That is why I am speaking to you right now. To ask for your help. _

_If all of you would raise your hands up to the sky, and offer up a portion of your energy, we could use it to defeat Majin Buu once and for all. No more being slaughtered like sacrificial lambs! Consider this your first, small stride, to becoming a warrior race!_

_Now, let's begin. Raise your hands up. Now!_

That was all he said.

Videl was puzzled over the strange request. _Raise your hands up? _What was this, a concert or something?

Only Krillin understood. "They must be using the Spirit Bomb!" he exclaimed.

"But how?" asked Yamcha. "Only Goku knows the Spirit Bomb."

"Maybe he was brought back to life, as well," said Krillin. "That's the only explanation. Vegeta did mention a _group_ of warriors."

"What's the Spirit Bomb?" asked Videl.

Krillin tried to explain. "It's an attack, a ball made up of ki taken from the planet and its inhabitants. Goku has tried it before against Vegeta and Freeza. It hasn't had a good track record, though."

"They must be really desperate," said Yamcha.

_People of Earth! Don't stop now! It's working! All of you, raise your hands up!_

"Come on," said Bulma. "What are we waiting for? Let's do it, already!" She raised her hands in the air.

Chi-Chi followed, then the Ox-King, and Krillin and Yamcha joined in as well. Soon, everyone was raising up their hands.

_Well, here goes nothing._ Videl raised her hands up.

For a second, nothing happened. It made her feel like a bit of an idiot. But then, she could _feel_ her energy moving upwards to her hands, and then leaving her body. It made her feel unbelievable dizzy. Just as she was worried that she might faint, it stopped, leaving her a little shaky but unharmed.

She recoiled, immediately placing her hands down. "That was so weird," she said.

"I didn't think they'd take that much," remarked Krillin. "But this is the first time they've asked the people to contribute. Normally, they just use energy from the planet."

Videl sat down, suddenly exhausted. She felt like she had just gone through an intense training session. Every part of her body felt drained. Her hands were still shaking a bit.

"_Now_ what do we do?" she asked.

"We wait," said Chi-Chi. "And hope that whatever we did was enough."

But then they heard Vegeta's voice again, sounding a little frustrated.

_Hey! People of the Earth! You're in grave danger! Majin Buu still lives! He destroyed your planet and he'll do it again! Stand up for your planet! Raise your hands up!_

"What's going on?" asked Bulma. "Why is he still asking?"

"No one's listening to him," said Master Roshi. "We gave him energy, but it isn't enough. They need the whole planet to raise their hands up. But no one believes him."

"Well, of course they don't!" exclaimed Videl, suddenly understanding. "What would you do if a voice in your head told you that you had to give your energy to fight something you can't even see? You'd think you were going crazy! The only reason_ I_ did it is because you guys did."

"Huh," said Bulma. "I didn't think of it that way."

Videl stood up, still a little shaky. "Maybe I'll try convince them. I'm sure they'll listen to me."

She tried to fly out. She rose a few feet until she was stopped by a wave of fatigue. With her head suddenly spinning, she had to stop and land to regain her composure. _I've given all my energy to the Spirit Bomb_, she realised_. I'm too tired to fly._

So much for _that_ idea.

A new voice started speaking.

_Earthlings, please listen! We need your energy! Raise your hands up, I beg of you! There's no time left! This is our last chance to beat Majin Buu!_

It was Goku. Apparently, he was fighting Majin Buu as well.

"I still don't understand it," Yamcha commented. "How is Goku still alive? He has no more time left."

But they couldn't think of an answer.

"And come to think of it, who wished us back to life?" inquired Bulma. "Was _anyone_ else still alive after Buu escaped the chamber?"

The more they thought about it, the less sense it seemed to make.

* * *

><p>The fighters still had that concerned look on their face, the look that told them the people still weren't listening to Goku and Vegeta's pleas. Perhaps the Spirit Bomb was going to fail. Didn't they say it was their last chance? What would happen if it failed, then?<p>

Just as she was thinking this, a new voice appeared in her head. A gruff voice that was incredibly familiar.

_What's wrong with you ingrates? Can't you lend us a hand? Come on, how many times have I saved you people?_

_No, it can't be…_she thought. She had almost forgotten about him.

"That's my DAD!" she yelled. "**THAT'S MY DAD!"**

Her father was with them? Goku and Vegeta? What was he even _doing _there? How did he get there?

It didn't matter. His voice was such a comfort to her. She'd spent days not knowing what happened to him. The fact that she knew he was alive and well…it was such a relief! She didn't care about what may have done. Just the fact that her father was _alive!_

"Mr. Satan?" asked Krillin. "Why is he there?"

Master Roshi paused. "I think the people recognise him. Perhaps…we may have a chance."

A few seconds later, Mr. Satan's voice appeared again, this time a lot more confident.

_Alright, everyone! This is your champion speaking, Mr. Satan! Please, don't doubt. I was…working undercover. That's why I didn't speak to ya, I was keeping my identity a secret! Now, raise up those hands and lend me that energy, so I can beat Majin Buu! Haha!_

"My dad couldn't be fighting Majin Buu..." said Videl bluntly. "He wouldn't last a second."

"He's probably lying," said Yamcha.

"Well, whatever he's doing, it's working," said Krillin. "The people are lending their energy."

"Are you sure?" asked Bulma.

"Positive," said Master Roshi. "Obviously, the words of the 'champion' swayed them."

_My father is lying to everyone, and that's…a good thing? _Videl wasn't sure what to think. She was still trying to get around the fact he was with Goku and Vegeta in the first place.

"Even if we have enough energy, the Spirit Bomb could still fail," said Krillin. "It's failed before."

"Don't say that!" said Yamcha. "Be positive. It'll work. It has to."

Everyone was getting anxious. Videl was becoming a bundle of nerves. The fact that they were so close…and yet, she had no way of knowing how well they were doing. There had been no more messages. Who knew if they were even winning? If they failed, Buu could easily kill them all again. Right? It was so frustrating, not being able to know what was going on.

But then she heard her father's voice.

_Citizens of Earth, this is the Champ speaking. Majin Buu is no more! He has been destroyed, and the nightmare is over. Thanks to your help, we can all live in peace once again!_

It took a few seconds for his words to truly register.

"It's over…" said Bulma. "It's over! We won!"

"We did it!" shouted Krillin.

The meaning of that suddenly kicked in. Majin Buu was dead. They were free. The terror of the last few days was…finally over. No one was after them. No one was trying to kill them. They could live their lives again.

Everyone, filled with sudden euphoria, got up and started dancing around, running like maniacs. They were alive! It was all over!

"This is so embarrassing," said Videl, looking at the grown adults dancing around like children. But she couldn't stop a smile coming to her face. They all had a reason to be happy, and so did she.

* * *

><p>Their celebrations were interrupted by a lone figure landing in front of them. A figure with green skin and a turban.<p>

"Piccolo!" exclaimed Krillin.

_Thank goodness he's still alive._ The last Videl saw of Piccolo, he was leading Majin Buu to fight the boys.

Everyone rushed over to talk to Piccolo, eager to know what had happened. Did Majin Buu kill him? What about the boys? How did they escape the chamber?

She caught Chi-Chi's eye. Chi-Chi looked at her – and then she saw something that Videl couldn't see, and her face froze.

"Gohan…" Chi-Chi said.

Videl was in disbelief. Her heart started to race. _No. No way._ _He couldn't be here…after all this time?_

And then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around...and there was Gohan.

After what she now knew about him, Videl was surprised to see he looked exactly the same. Well, almost the same. For some reason, he was wearing an outfit similar to his father. But the others' impressions of who Gohan was and her impressions of who Gohan was were totally different. It had made her think that she'd fallen in love with an entirely different person. She almost hadn't expected to recognise him.

_Gohan's not dead,_ she had kept saying. She had been repeating it in her mind like a mantra, desperately hoping to see him again. But, by the end, even _she_ had trouble believing it. When all hope was lost, Gohan was the only remaining thing keeping her from losing all sense of herself. Because she knew that she loved him.

In the last few days, she had been thinking about what to say to him when she saw him again. She had thought it would be some kind of passionate love confession. But now, seeing him in the flesh, those thoughts melted away. And her overwhelming feeling was anger.

"You **idiot**!" she yelled. "I was worried **sick** about you!"

Gohan looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, Videl," he said honestly. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

And that line broke her. After everything that had happened, the fact that Gohan was here, and was acting…well…like Gohan, made her realise everything could finally go back to normal.

She broke down and started to cry. Not out of sadness, or out of any emotion, really. Just out of pure relief.

"I'm his mother," said Chi-Chi behind her, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm the one that should be crying."

But Chi-Chi was then distracted by Goten and Trunks' arrival.

Their mothers looked at them, and simultaneously grabbed them in a hug, bursting into tears.

* * *

><p>Videl recovered from her crying surprisingly fast. She had never really been upset, after all. Once the intial burst of emotion was over, there was no reason to cry anymore. She went up to Gohan. "You're going to tell me<em> everything<em>," she demanded. "No more secrets."

Gohan smiled. "You're right. I guess you're due for an explanation."

He quickly took charge. "We're waiting until Goku and Vegeta arrive," he announced to everyone, still reuniting. "Then we can all go back home. Knowing my father, he shouldn't be long."

Videl was surprised how confident Gohan was. He didn't seem the type of person that took a leadership role. But, then again, these were _his_ people. He was comfortable around them.

Soon after he said this, the familiar _whirr_ told everyone Goku had teleported.

And sure enough, there he was. Goku, Vegeta, Dende, someone who looked a little like the Supreme Kai and, off in the corner, looking unsure of what he was doing there…

Her father.

Videl's heart leapt when she saw him.

**"Dad!"** she cried, desperately running over to him. Her father was here! He was a liar and a cheat, and she didn't know if she could trust him, but _by god_ she'd missed him!

Then a figure appeared out of the bushes next to him.

It was Majin Buu.

A bolt of panic ran through her. _He's still alive he's still alive-_

And yet, her father wasn't scared. Neither was Goku or any of the others. And Buu was just standing there, laughing at the panic he had caused. He stuck out his tongue. For some reason, there was also a puppy, eagerly running around him, not scared in the slightest.

_He's not trying to kill us?_ At first, she was utterly confused. Then she remembered what Piccolo had told her, what seemed like a long time ago.

_He realised Majin Buu was not evil. He was like a child – simply destroying because that was all that he knew. Your father taught him kindness. And he convinced Buu to stop his destruction._

And this Majin Buu didn't look like the one that had killed her. It was the short, fat one; the one her father had befriended.

But, at the same time, didn't Piccolo also mention "_his good side and evil side fought. And his evil side won"_?

That wasn't important right now.

"Buu's not a bad person, I swear!" said her father, putting himself in front of him, as if trying to shield Buu from their disapproving gazes. "I'm taking responsibility for him. He's going to live with us."

_Live with us? That monster?_ Videl froze. Normally, she would have never accepted this. But a lot had changed in the past few days.

_If Dad believes he's not evil…_ There was no point in arguing.

"Tell him my room is off-limits, and it'll be fine,"

Her father laughed. "Of course!" he said.

She ran into his arms. "I've missed you _so_ much," she said, almost about to start crying again. "I didn't know what happened to you! How did you end up with them?"

"I'm not really sure, myself," said Mr. Satan. "I thought I was still dreaming until they started talking about giving energy and all that."

"I thought you'd believe it, considering.-" And then Videl remembered what her father had done.

_He's a liar. He never beat Cell._

"Dad?" she said, desperately. She needed to finally tell him. "I know the _truth_."

At first, Mr. Satan was unsure of what she meant. Then his face fell as the realisation sank in. He understood what she was referring to.

"Oh, Videl," he pleaded. "Can you forgive your old man? I never meant to lie, but they'd just disappeared and no one knew what was going on. I couldn't tell everyone what I'd seen. Who'd believe me?"

Her father had cheated, lied, and made her believe he was better than he actually was. But, at the same time, he was still her father.

"Of course I forgive you," she said.

Mr. Satan's expression brightened. "Oh, sweetie-"

She stopped him. "On one condition."

At first, it looked like her father was going to refuse, but he decided against it.

"What is it?"

"You have to let me go out with Gohan."

"Gohan?" he asked, confused.

"I've been doing martial arts practice with him and I think I love him. Or at least have a crush on him." Videl started babbling. "And you don't normally let me go out with guys, but I swear he's different."

Mr. Satan laughed. "That's what you're worried about? Of course I'll let you date someone. But, remember, I'll have to meet him first. To make sure he doesn't take advantage of you."

_He's…saying yes? He never agrees to something like this!_

All Videl could say was "Thankyou, dad!"

And she hugged him.

"He's right there," she said, pointing to Gohan, who was busy talking to his father at the time.

Turning away from her father, she smiled. "And besides, you've already met him. Remember that little boy from the Cell Games? The one who beat him? That's him. So, technically, I didn't break your rules. I _am_ dating someone stronger than you."

And, satisfied that she'd shocked him, she walked away.

* * *

><p>Videl wanted to tell Gohan the good news, but he was intently talking to Goku. She knew better not to interrupt a family reunion.<p>

How would she ask him out? She'd never done this before. And there was still the small chance that Gohan didn't like her after all. _If that's true, I might as well get it out of the way. Like ripping off a Band-Aid._

It was enough to drive a girl insane-

**"You fused with Vegeta?!"** exclaimed Gohan loudly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Everyone immediately turned to look at him.

Vegeta was annoyed. "Sure, let's go and tell _everyone _while we're at it!" he said sarcastically. "It's not like I didn't want anyone to know!"

Bulma grabbed his arm. "Well, I think it's cute that you two managed to set aside your differences for long enough to save us."

And she kissed him. Vegeta seemed embarrassed by the show of affection.

"Alright," said Goku, easily taking charge. It seemed like when Goku talked, everyone listened. "Who wants a lift back?"

"Us first!" said Bulma.

As everyone started deciding when, and how, to leave, Videl took the opportunity to _finally_ go up to Gohan.

When he saw her, he suddenly got nervous. It was like he went back to dorky, high-school Gohan.

"Hey, Videl…" he started. "I was wondering…now that this is all over…"

_He couldn't seriously be thinking it. Could he? He wants to ask me out as well?_

"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed in frustration. "The answer is yes, ok!"

Gohan looked puzzled. "But I haven't finished the question yet! I could be asking you about homework or something."

She raised her eyebrows. "I doubt that. You wouldn't be nervous if it was just homework."

"So, then…" Gohan took a deep breath. "Do you want to go out with me?"

_He really does like me! This wasn't a one-sided crush after all!_ "Of course!"

Gohan's expression brightened. "Really? No conditions this time?"

"Only one," she said. "You have to tell me the truth. The _whole _truth."

"How much do you know?" he asked. "I know you were with my family, so they probably told you a bit."

"They did," she agreed. "But I want to hear it all from you. It's better that way."

* * *

><p>The fighters all flew off. And, one by one, Goku, teleporting in and out of the lookout like an overeager insect, brought the others home.<p>

Eventually they were the last ones left.

"Why don't you come to my house?" she asked Gohan. "It's closer. You can tell me everything and then you can go home."

Gohan thought about it. "That sounds great," he said.

So, at her house, Gohan and Videl sat and talked. They discussed what they were doing during Majin Buu's attack, and what had happened even before that. Gohan finally told her the truth about his life – his experiences, his friends, the joys and pains that he still kept with him. And she told him about her life. Perhaps it was not as interesting, and a lot more _human_, but she still felt like it was something worth talking about. It was something she wanted to share with him. They talked until the sun was low in the sky and their voices were hoarse, but they still didn't want to stop.

Eventually, Gohan seemed to notice the time. "It's getting late. I'll have to go. My mum and Goten and…and my dad…are waiting for me."

Videl didn't want him to leave. There was still so much left to talk about! But it _was_ getting late. She had to let him go.

"Just _promise_ you'll come back this time," she demanded.

Gohan was puzzled. "What do you mean? I'm not leaving for good. I can come back in the morning, if you want."

"No!" _He's so naïve… _"I mean…don't leave without saying goodbye. Not like last time. I don't think I can deal with not knowing where you are again. The next time something like this happens…just tell me first."

She smiled. "After all, that's what couples do, don't they?"

"I…I guess so." Gohan still looked a little confused, but Videl knew he had understood her request.

He waved goodbye, and left through the front door. A few seconds later, she could see the figure of him through her window, flying through the air, heading home. He looked around self-consciously, then he started using his full speed. Within a few seconds, he was gone.

And as he left, it felt like a part of her left with him.

**[AN: Don't worry, the story isn't over yet! There's still an epilogue left to go. And be sure to check that out. I'll be needing your help in deciding what to do next; whether to continue this story (although with a new fanfic) or to start a new one. I have some ideas brewing, it all depends on what you guys want to read.]**


	20. Epilogue

Days passed, and things slowly went back to normal. Well, not exactly normal. Things were definitely changing. For one, Majin Buu settled down to live with them, confined to their house because people would recognise him. It was difficult enough convincing their staff that he wasn't going to kill them, and swearing them to secrecy. Despite everything she had heard, he wasn't as stupid or evil as she thought he was. Besides one terrifying moment when he woke her up in the middle of the night, unaware that humans needed sleep, he behaved almost normally. Her father doted over him and their new puppy like best friends, and, for once, Videl didn't mind. Piccolo had told her what her father did to save the Earth. Even if he didn't fight like the Saiyans did, he contributed as much as they did towards this peace. And Goku had explained that he had helped immensely in the final battle. They wouldn't have been able to win without him.

The other main difference was she was going out with Gohan. It wasn't like her previous relationships, where they would go on constant dates and parties and used each other to improve social status. It felt like she and Gohan were friends. They'd talk on the phone almost every night. Gohan himself was also adjusting to changes in his life, now that his father was alive again. In their rapidly changing worlds, it was great to have someone to talk to, to help keep them grounded.

And they weren't the only ones whose lives had been changed. It turned out most of the public clearly remembered being hunted and killed by Majin Buu. Bulma had promised Mr. Satan that, once the Dragon Balls were active again, they would use one of their wishes to wipe the memories of Majin Buu from the people, so he didn't have to be hidden anymore. Videl wasn't entirely sure how that was going to work – were they going to wipe the memories of those entire days, or just the memories of what Majin Buu looked like? But it wasn't going to happen for a few months. In the meanwhile, it seemed everyone's method of coping with the traumatic events was to try not to dwell on them. Perhaps erasing their memories wouldn't change much, even if Videl found the idea a little unsettling.

Then, a few days after peace started, her father got the notification that school was starting up again. After everything that had happened, going back to school felt like something from a different life. But she knew she had to go. It was the first step to try and return to normalcy.

That day, she got her driver to drop her off at the school gates, as usual. Videl stared at the school entrance, reflecting. The gates, the courtyard, the garden…they looked exactly the same. But she had changed immensely. Everything she thought she knew about the world had been turned upside-down. She had learnt how to fly, had met aliens, had died, and had been brought back to life. She had seen horrors and miracles, dreams and nightmares. She most definitely didn't feel like the same girl who had walked in those gates over a month ago, embarrassed about her breaking up with Tape, fuming about the appearance of the Gold Fighter.

And then she saw a lone figure, lurking behind a tree. It was Gohan!

She walked up to him. "Hey," she said, poking him in the shoulder to get his attention.

Gohan turned his head and saw her. "I was waiting for you," he said, smiling. "I didn't want to go in on my own."

"You scared?" she asked, jokingly. "Compared to Majin Buu, high school should be a piece of cake."

"_Should_ be," Gohan emphasised. "But…I kind of blew my cover at the tournament. Now I'm sure everyone knows who I am. I don't know what they'll do."

"Don't worry about it!" she assured him. "They'll be fine. They won't overreact."

"But what if they do?" asked Gohan, still concerned.

"Then we'll deal with it together." She placed her hand in his. "After all, I don't care what anyone thinks."

They walked through the gates, hand in hand.

**The End**

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Well, it's been...not _such_ a long ride. But this fanfiction is officially over! I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading this, I didn't expect _anyone_ was going to enjoy it. Thanks to the followers (over 100 followers! What a milestone!), favourites and reviewers (even the guys who seem to write the same review every time I update. I still don't understand that.) Special thanks to the people who I can tell were reading this story closely, including the guys giving constructive criticism. You all know who you are. Your comments were always appreciated. I know no story is perfect, and it's great you could pick up on things I overlooked.

So now, the question is "where do I go from here?". I still have plenty of fanfic ideas. Perhaps a little _too_ many. So I need your help in deciding what I'm going to write next.

A surprising amount of people seem to want me to continue this story. And it's true that the aftermath of the events aren't fully explored. But I feel like those things would be best suited for another fanfiction. This story was mainly about Gohan and Videl's relationship, and the Buu Saga. Those two things are now resolved. However, that doesn't mean Videl's story is over. Far from it. There are two fanfic ideas I have that take place after this one. Semi-sequels, you could say. Some ideas will be fully explored there.

**Gohan and Videl watch the Cell Games** - what better way to do emotional therapy then doing it together! Gohan and Videl have to face the truth - Gohan about him being responsible for his father's death and Videl seeing the evidence of just how outclassed her father was. Keep in mind, this isn't just them watching the Goku/Gohan vs Cell fight on Youtube. They're watching the Cell Games _footage_. That is, the cameraman trying to capture the fights with Cell, with the announcer and Mr. Satan providing commentary in the background. And Gohan and Videl would pause the footage if there was something they needed to talk about. It wouldn't be that long. Maybe 2-3 long chapters.

**Second Chances** - original material! After the Buu Saga, Gohan is struggling to find his place in the world. His father is back, everyone at school knows his secret identity, and even Videl is acting strange. And now he's become involved in a mystery about stolen documents from Capsule Corp. But those documents are...blueprints for the Androids? Focused on Gohan, but Videl will still be a major character. She even gets some chapters from her perspective. I'm trying to make this a little different to DBZ other fanfics - there isn't much fighting until the end, and even then, it becomes more of an ideological battle than a physical one. I'm also trying to make Gohan an actual CHARACTER with real flaws, rather than some perfect superhero. I've noticed attempts to rewrite Gohan to make him a 'better' character often make him incredibly bland. Or some generic badass.

I also have two ideas for fanfictions that aren't related to Only Human. The first is about 12-year-old Pan and her attempts to become a Super Saiyan. Is it possible for her to transform? And, if so, how will everyone react? A lot of family fluff, focusing on the relationship between Pan and Bra.

My last idea is Bulma's diary, that she writes during the first arc of Dragon Ball. She might whip it out during other events in Dragon Ball, like the tournaments. And who knows? Maybe she'll take it to Namek!

If any of those ideas sound interesting, tell me in the reviews! Or PM me. And tell me if you have any other ideas you want me to consider writing a fanfic for. I'm open to requests.

In all honesty, I'm probably going to publish **Second Chances** at some point. I've already started writing it. But perhaps I might publish some other, shorter stories in the meantime. Because it'll be a while before I start publishing it. I want to make sure a significant amount of it is done before I start. That way I know I won't put it on hiatus halfway through and disappointing everyone.

Just keep in mind, I don't think I want to make a typical Gohan/Videl romance fic. Or a typical highschool fic. There's PLENTY of that stuff around, especially the high school fics. Let's put it this way: I don't think I can write pages about Gohan and Videl talking about how much they love each other. I just can't take myself seriously when writing stuff like that. It doesn't feel _real_.

So, thanks for reading! I hope to see you soon!

~Gaby


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